Fuse Alliance's goal is to have members differentiate themselves from their competitors by having their employed tile installers go through the four-hour Tile Installer Thin-set Standards (ITS) Verificationcourse that is taught in both English and Spanish. This also gives them the benefit of avoiding potential installation problems. Fuse members are benefiting from having their project managers and sales employees take the UofCTS Understanding the Basics of Ceramic Tile course and Understanding the Basics of Natural Stonecourse that take a comprehensive look at the stone and ceramic tile industries. The courses teach industry standards, technical information about tile and stone, sales techniques, and are designed to give salespeople the knowledge and tools they need to gain confidence and credibility in the eyes of their customers which leads to increasing sales.

The Tile ITS Verification course instructs installers, setters and finishers on industry standards and practices, manufacturers' requirements and proper installation methods for tile thinset applications that apply to ceramic tile, porcelain tile, stone tile, glass tile, and other types of adhered tile materials. The course also teaches how to inspect and prepare substrates and tiles, how to achieve full thin-set coverage, and points out quality workmanship requirements and practices. Tile installers who complete the ITS Verification course receive a certificate of completion and must renew it every two years to remain current with industry standards. The ITS course is available in English and in Spanish.

Referring to the new partnership Donato Pompo, founder of the UofCTS, said "Fuse Alliance is dedicated to supporting their members by providing them educational resources. Fuse retained me two years ago for providing technical consulting services to their members. This is a free service that Fuse offers to Fuse members, which demonstrates their commitment to having their membership provide quality tile and stone installations. We are excited to continue to collaborate with Fuse to bring the highest quality online courses in the industry to their members."

For details on the content of any of the UofCTS online courses, visit www.UofCTS.org. This site contains video previews of the courses with more descriptions of the subjects covered in each.