PUHI — The sun had barely peeked out of the Pacific, but birds were chirping despite the blustery winds that buffeted the farm area west of the Kaua‘i Community College lo‘i (taro terraces). Sixteen Kauaians were already spread out among
PUHI — The sun had barely peeked out of the Pacific, but birds were chirping despite the blustery winds that buffeted the farm area west of the Kaua‘i Community College lo‘i (taro terraces).
Sixteen Kauaians were already spread out among the 17 field-test stations in preparation for their day-long tests and evaluations leading to a Certified Landscape Technician (CLT) rating.
By the end of the day, two participants who had failed the test last year and retook the test this year, and another participant, passed the test and won certification.
The three participants joined two other professional landscapers on Kaua‘i who have the rating and certification from the program, now in its second year, according to Lee Ridley, the CLT examination coordinator.
The program helps upgrade the skills of professional landscapers so that they can do their jobs more quickly and more cost-effectively, providing consumers a “better project,” Ridley said.
For some landscaping jobs on O‘ahu, companies must have CLT-certified employees in order to bid for landscaping jobs, Ridley said.
During the day of testing, Garrett Webb of Kona was on hand as an observer for the testing program. Webb is president of the Landscape Industry Council of Hawai‘i, whose members conducted the field-examination program.
Webb said the program was initiated in Kona in 1998, and is part of an international program involving 28 states in America as well as provinces in Canada.
Kevin Davis, an observer from the Mainland, was also on hand to oversee the tests, which according to Webb was the second administered on Kaua‘i.
Participants traversed between problem stations established around the campus, working through actual problems under the observation of two overseers, and a judge who is assisted by a pair of section chairs who oversee the judges.
In addition, there are a pair of judges’ technical assistants (JTA), and one of their areas of responsibilities are to resolve conflict-of-interest issues.
As an example, if a participant’s boss is a judge in a problem station, then the JTA will step in to judge that particular test.
“Yes, we are top heavy,” Webb admitted. “But, it works.”
Participants took a battery of written tests the week before, leading up to the field tests administered last Saturday.
Webb said that prior to the written tests being administered, participants were offered a 12-course instruction program involving a dozen, three-hour seminars leading to the tests.
However, Webb said, these were optional, although most of the participants did take part in the classes.
In the background, a chain saw sputtered to life as one of the participants got to saw off a portion of a log following his checklist of what needed to be done prior to starting up the chain saw.
Additionally, judges queried participants in various areas involving the use of particular pieces of equipment, and in mixing chemicals.
Tests involved everything from identifying various pieces of irrigation equipment to the use of various power tools including the chain saw, walking mower, aerators, brush cutters (more familiarly known as “weed eaters”) and even sidewalk blowers.
But, the one that seemed to give participants the most aggravation was trying to maneuver a pickup equipped with a trailer for hauling larger mowing equipment.
Another station involved the use of herbicides and pesticides, and Webb was interrupted from his presentation to check on the proprietaries of how a participant gauged the wind that was gusting in the morning.
At the mower station, a judge conferred with his section chair on how a participant fared based on observing the mower operator negotiate obstacles placed in the mowing target area, while another CLT candidate was hunched over a hole working on lateral repair and head adjustment for a sprinkler system adjacent to another plot where another CLT candidate prepped the ground in preparation for sod installation.
Webb said the successful candidates will find out in a few weeks whether or not they passed the tests, and upon successful completion of the tests will receive certificates and pins announcing their CLT designation.
As an owner of his own landscaping business, Webb said that when his employees pass the CLT tests, they get pay raises.
Additionally, passage of the tests usually announces that the candidate is in a position to be promoted to a supervisory capacity.
“He will have professional skills and will be able to handle projects that come up,” Ridley said. “He will have more experience, he can trim, maintain and do irrigation (work), as opposed to someone who doesn’t have the certification.”
A final point brought out by Webb is that on O‘ahu, vendors seeking contracts with the City & County of Honolulu are required to have CLTs on their staffs. This is a requisite to vendors getting city contracts.
Members of the Landscape Industry Council of Hawai‘i were assisted by local volunteers who are members of the Kaua‘i Landscape Industry Council (KLIC), who work toward unifying the Kaua‘i nursery and plant industry, working collaboratively and leveraging resources, and enhancing and elevating the skills of people in the landscape industry with certified training.
The KLIC collaborative efforts have involved forming partnerships with the KCC Office of Continuing Education and Training, the Kaua‘i Rural Development Project at KCC, the county’s Office of Economic Development, the state’s Department of Labor and Industrial Relations’ Employers Training Fund (ETF), and the Garden Island Resource Conservation and Development, Inc.
CLT candidates taking part in the Saturday tests included Marion Schmidt (National Tropical Botanical Garden), James Toledo (Kauai Nursery & Landscaping), Mark Chaffee (National Tropical Botanical Garden), Steven Cardinez (Kauai Coast Resort at the Beachboy), Michael Arundale (No Ka Oi Plants), Jed Kaohi (No Ka Oi Plants), Stanley “Shilo” Pa (Falko Partners), Lear Ayau (No Ka Oi Plants), Raymond Kahaunaele (Falko Partners), Jake Velasco (JNL Landscaping & Maintenance), Anthony Vea (Kaua‘i Community College), Isidro Cun-Lara (Kauai Nursery & Landscaping), Diomedes Glovasa (Paradise Grounds Care), Warlito Cadiente (Kauai Nursery & Landscaping), and Koma Texeira (No Ka Oi Plants).
Sports Editor Dennis Fujimoto may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or mailto:dfujimoto@pulitzer.net.
Staff Writer Lester Chang may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net.
