Aspire Adds Student Learning Path to Aspire Academy
Per an announcement within the Aspire operating software Resource Center, the company has taken steps to introduce a learning path for students within their recently launched Aspire Academy. The announcement states:
"Working with Aspire in the Classroom, Aspire Academy has rolled out a Student Learning Path with the Academy’s first ever certification for the landscape industry.
You can learn about how to access/share certifications via additional information in our All About Aspire Academy Article.
While this certification is specifically for students, anyone can take this path to obtain the credential."
With Aspire firmly positioned as the industry's leading CRM and operating software, it's critical that future contributors to the industry be exposed to the software as early as possible. The proliferation of the software among landscaping companies makes a candidate's experience using it more of a requirement than a preference when hiring. Companies, who in many cases are learning the software themselves, are hungry for team members who know the software and that will require less training. Beyond that, the software has created a need to fill positions specifically focused on Aspire. Many of the larger, private equity backed companies are in need of Aspire subject matter experts to develop SOPs and train their workforces on Aspire. Beyond training and basic support, the industry has also seen the creation of mid-management, Director-level, and even VP-level positions focused on Aspire. At HeartLand, I was the Aspire Director overseeing an entire team focused on implementation and support. We created the Production Controller position for our individual companies. That position was responsible for overseeing training locally, implementing SOPs, the end-of-month process, and keeping the company at the cutting edge of it's Aspire utilization; one could think of it as a counterpart to the company Controller, more so focused on production than accounting, but overseeing the union of those two functions.
As Aspire adapts and adds new features, including A.I., the need for talent with experience and knowledge on the software will become greater and greater. We commend Aspire in taking this step in ensuring the next generation of landscapers are prepared and we look forward to seeing the response towards the Student Learning Path and what more individual universities and schools will do to expose their students to Aspire.
