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achievement that demonstrate a basic<br />
mastery of the knowledge and applied<br />
skills needed by the detailing professional.<br />
Certified Detailers have not only<br />
demonstrated competency, but they have<br />
also shown determination and commitment<br />
in completing the certification<br />
process. The pride of earning these designations<br />
places a detailing professional<br />
among a group at the top of their profession.<br />
Consumers can have confidence in<br />
the quality of service they are receiving<br />
when working with a Certified Detailer.<br />
Phase I in the IDA Certification process<br />
consists of 10 exams, in these subject<br />
areas: Equipment, Chemicals, Glass, Interior<br />
Detailing, Leather, Paint Correction<br />
& Protection, Wheels & Tires, Prep<br />
Wash/Wash Bay, Detailing Terminology,<br />
and Safety & Compliance. Phase II<br />
is for those who have successfully completed<br />
Phase I, and it represents the four<br />
primary categories that each candidate<br />
must demonstrate their “hands on” ability<br />
to perform: Wash Bay/Prep, Interior,<br />
Exterior Correction, and Finishing<br />
Steps. Phase II testing demonstrates<br />
hands-on skills and consists of in-person<br />
testing conducted by an IDA Recognized<br />
Independent Trainer (RIT) in a<br />
scenario-type format, which affords the<br />
detailer the opportunity to demonstrate<br />
the abilities expected of the advanced<br />
detailing professional.<br />
How Can Detailers<br />
Become IDA<br />
Certified?<br />
There are currently two paths available<br />
to become a Certified Detailer: 1)<br />
taking the Phase I exams online or 2) attending<br />
an in-person event hosted by an<br />
RIT and taking the exams onsite. Each<br />
of the 10 exams must be passed with<br />
a score of 80% or higher. The online<br />
exams can be completed anytime, anywhere,<br />
as long as the detailer has access<br />
to the internet. This makes it easy for<br />
anyone around the world to take the exams<br />
when it is most convenient for them.<br />
The IDA recognizes, though, that<br />
just because the exams have been available<br />
to anyone, that does not mean they<br />
have been accessible to everyone – primarily<br />
due to language barriers. Until<br />
now, the online<br />
exams have only been available in<br />
English, using U.S. terminology. Of<br />
course, as an international organization,<br />
many of the IDA’s members are<br />
non-native English speakers, and thus<br />
inherently are at a disadvantage when<br />
taking the exams in English. Only onethird<br />
of the current Certified Detailers<br />
are international. As the IDA continues<br />
to increase its global presence, it is vital<br />
to make the exams as accessible to as<br />
many international detailers as possible.<br />
With that in mind, the IDA is currently<br />
working to offer the exams in five additional<br />
languages: Dutch, French, Italian,<br />
Portuguese, and Spanish, along with an<br />
English version using U.K. terminology.<br />
The aim is to have these translations all<br />
available online by the end of <strong>2022</strong> or<br />
early 2023. Looking to the future, the<br />
IDA anticipates the need to offer the exams<br />
in many more languages to correspond<br />
with continued global growth and<br />
will continue to make them available on<br />
the IDA website.<br />
Since hands-on Skills Validated exams<br />
can currently only be administered<br />
in person by a Recognized Independent<br />
Trainer, it is a bit more challenging for<br />
detailers outside the U.S. or U.K. to earn<br />
the SV designation. There are currently<br />
804 Skills Validated Detailers worldwide,<br />
with just over a quarter of them<br />
located outside the United States and<br />
United Kingdom. This closely correlates<br />
with the current make-up of RITs: out<br />
of the 50 active RITs, less than onefourth<br />
of them are in countries outside<br />
the U.S. and U.K. The IDA knows that<br />
an increase in RITs outside of these two<br />
locations will result in an increase in<br />
SV designations, which is why the IDA<br />
Certification Committee has made it an<br />
10 | AUTO DETAILING NEWS | VOL. 7, NO. 4 • <strong>WINTER</strong> <strong>2022</strong>