As the coronavirus (aka Covid-19) pandemic continues to affect the industry, CEDIA announced CEDIASTRONG, a program consisting of "sweeping" services and tools to empower, educate and inspire CEDIA members during these turbulent times.
According to the organisation, CEDIASTRONG provides members with free financial planning tools and services, technical training and webinars, career planning resources, online business roundtable discussions and marketing content for the local promotion of services. The initiative also includes a CEDIASTRONG fund to provide financial assistance to members in need, with the goal of awarding grants later in 2021.
“CEDIASTRONG was born from the COVID-19 pandemic and was designed to serve as a rallying cry for our industry,” CEDIA says. “Today, as people hunker down and work from their homes, technology solutions are all the more paramount, as is the role of the professionals who design and install them. We want to help members power through this challenging period and prepare them for the future to ensure they are ready to resume business as usual when this crisis is behind us.”
The initiative involves the services of financial advisors to provide members with weekly financial sessions free of charge, as well as a Resource Centre with financial, legal and regulatory information. Displaced workers get help with resume creation, job search strategies and interviewing tips, while all fees for current CEDIA online training are waived for members.
CEDIA plans to host regional roundtable discussions, live online events bringing installers and vendors together to share insights on how they conduct business during these trying times, how to best prepare for recovery and how to market services. Marketing assets will help members spread the word and generate business opportunities in local markets. Once the worst is over, CEDIA plans to establish the CEDIASTRONG Fund to provide financial assistance, with the goal of accepting donations later this year before awarding grants sometime in 2021.
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