November 7, 2023
Professional certification signifies that you possess a strong knowledge, expertise and commitment to your industry and customers. Equipment rental professionals have embraced the value of certification by learning from the success of the American Rental Association’s (ARA) popular Certified Event Rental Professional (CERP) program for those in the event segment.
Now equipment rental pros can pursue certifications that will earn them an identifier that is unique to their rental segment: Equipment Certified Professional (ECP).
ECP is a new professional designation extended to those who complete one of ARA’s suite of equipment rental-specific certification programs, including:
ARA Certified Service Technician. This program is designed for employees interested in honing their skills in equipment maintenance, safety and technical knowledge. Employees well-suited for this track include yard, service, mechanic and operations staff. Those who complete the program receive an ECP-ST (Equipment Certified Professional – Service Technician) professional designation.
ARA Certified Sales and Marketing. Designed for employees responsible for customer interactions, digital marketing and more, employees well-suited for this program include sales staff, customer service representatives and office managers. Those who complete the program receive an ECP-SM (Equipment Certified Professional – Sales and Marketing) professional designation.
“These professional, portable certifications bring value to the industry by supporting career paths within the industry and increasing members’ ability to attract, train and retain talent as well as keep talent within the industry,” says Josh Nickell, ECP-SMM/MI, ARA vice president, equipment segment.
See who has earned ECP-SM and ECP-ST professional designations across ARA’s Region Six (which covers Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota):
Steve Mau, ECP-SM
Brainerd General Rental, Brainerd, Minn.
Matt Stanford, ECP-SM
Crown Rental, Burnsville, Minn.
Mason Toline, ECP-SM/ST
Crown Rental
Brittany Vruno, CERP, ECP-SM/ST
Crown Rental
Jeremy Yantes, ECP-SM
Crown Rental
Rachel O’Brien, ECP-SM
J & F Reddy Rents, Saint Louis Park, Minn.
Ryan Schaaf, ECP-SM
J & F Reddy Rents
Tony Sochko, ECP-ST
J & F Reddy Rents
Active list as of September 2023
Jeremy Yantes
Yantes, general manager at Crown Rental, completed ARA Certified Sales and Marketing. Yantes has been involved in rental for 12 years and says the program hits all the right notes for those looking to broaden their knowledge in the sales and marketing area of rental.
“I think the training is excellent for the up-and-coming new person that gets into rental,” Yantes says. “It gives them a good baseline to build their sales career, their marketing career — whatever they want to do. This program can get them to the next level.”
Yantes also appreciates that the program is structured to allow learners to take in the content as their work schedule permits. “I took it over a couple of days because I was doing it in between other jobs here, so it definitely is very easy to follow; you can stop and go as you need to,” he says.
ECP designations also are available for those who complete ARA’s additional equipment certification or certificate programs, including:
ARA Certified MEWP (Mobile Elevating Work Platform) Train the Trainer — graduates receive ECP-MT designation.
ARA Certified MEWP Operator — graduates receive ECP-MO designation.
ARA Professional Driver Education Program — graduates receive ECP-PD designation.
Learn more about ARA industry certification and education programs under the “Learn” tab at ARArental.org.
