Hey Folks, It seems I can get my BC Licence from The National Certificate Program who will issue my Licence, because they have my school on their accredited list, then they told me next year, I just have to apply to BPCPA and renew their licence. One catch though Since I’ve just started a new Company, they want me to have a proven 50 hrs., mentoring experience. I’ve got my Certified Home Inspector Diploma’s Plus mold and well over 200 hours class. So I need to ask, is their an Inspector on mid Vancouver Isand area willing to mentor another enthusiastic home Inspector 50 Hrs. so I can get my licence and carry on work. Sorry to bother everyone with this, I just want to get working.
Thanks,
Cheers,
Tom Rorke
I’m across the pond from you on the Sunshine Coast, so I can’t be of any assistance.
I suggest you look on the BPCPA site for licensed inspectors in your area and then contact them.
There is propaganda being spread by those who just introduced the first licensing law in Canada that Canadian home inspectors are crawling over each other for the opportunity to mentor their competitors and to make them equal to them in skill and knowledge.
Some of us who have been cynical have called them out…challenging them that the mentoring requirement they place in licensing bills is strictly for the means to make money off of newbies wanting to be licensed.
This lack of response to your request does little to support their claims.
Start posting some dollar figures. How much are you willing to pay one of these “mentors” to show you how their secrets?
50 hours of mentoring!! WOW!!! The law, with the mentoring requirement, has served the purpose of current license holders. NO mentoring, no new competition!!! Maybe some of the old “retired” inspectors could start a mentoring company, will mentor for $??.?? per hour! Mentoring ONLY works, if there are those who are willing to do so. My guess, there is an attitude of why would I want to train my competition??
You are probably right, James, flash around enough $$$$, problem solved.
I consider that extortion, which this licensing requirement endorses.
James nailed the current issue that many inspectors face.
Ditto Mario and James.
Fifty hours does not seem out of line to me, if anything it is not nearly enough. If a new fellow tagged along with an inspector for the day’s inspections and then hung around to write the reports with him it would take six days. Six days of actual field experience is going to get someone in trouble. The likely scenario is that a guy would agree to work for someone for a while after being trained. To get a termite license in California a guy has to work for a licensed operator for no less than four years.
Don’t see the corolation, if it takes 4 years to get a termite license, your time would be better spent in college!
What is the “value” of mentoring that an in depth class doesn’t offer? It
would be one thing, if the newbee did an inspection, and then was “graded” on his work by an inspector, but I see little value in ridding around in the car/truck of an inspector, shooting the bull, and observing his “writing” up the report. Money/time not well spent.
Hate to break your guys little bubble, Home inspection is NOT rocket science!
It takes basic knowledge of all phases of construction, some schooling in “what to look for” in an inspection, and common sense. You are merely an uninterested third party, offering an opinion.
Steven, You may be right, four years in college may be time better spent, however we are not talking about mentoring per se. It’s the guy’s job working for the termite company, he’s getting paid and after four years experience he qualifies to apply for his own license. Unlike home inspection, you cannot be an accountant all your life, take a three week course, pass a test and call yourself a pest control operator.
What is the “value” of mentoring that an in depth class doesn’t offer? Well, how about experience, real world experience. My area has some very quirky and unusual construction. I do not believe that any school regardless of how “in depth” it is, will prepare someone to go out and perform inspections. There is not a single inspector in my locale who is not a general contractor and who is without building experience. In my area, if a client asks if this wall can be removed, or wants a rough estimate on what a deck would cost ect… you had better be able to give them some information. The multi inspector companies will require that a new inspector “shadows” a more experienced inspector a few time a week and writes a report for six to eight months before they go out on thier own. Don’t get me wrong, the inspection schools are important, but so is experience. You are absolutley right, home inspection is not rocket science. Construction is not rocket science, but if you are book trained and have no experience, you’re not going to build anything.
A new licensing law in a Canadian province requires mentoring.
In a thread on this message board, I pointed out to a proponent of that law that the mentoring scam is introduced into these nonsensical laws by aging home inspectors who would rather have someone else pay him for the experience of inspecting a crawlspace. It’s a moneymaker for the established inspector, an expense for a newby which will (by design) keep many out of the profession, and is a hilariously naive on the part of anyone paying a fee to think that his “mentor” is going to share any “secrets” that is going to prepare his future competition from being equal to him in skill and knowledge.
It is an expensive joke…paid for by the taxpayers who maintain the law and the poor schmucks stupid enough to pay a mentor.
In the first thread that this guy posted in…he asked for a mentor without offering to pay. He did not get one single response. The proponent of this law who argued that my position on the mentoring scam was wrong explained how all quality inspectors, for the good of the profession, are anxious to offer their skills to help others. So far, who has been proven to be correct?
Mentoring is intended to do what for whom?
In my opinion it filters down to hopefully offering valued practical experience by an experienced and proven skilled professional. It’s an age old system that has worked years ago, and still is used today. Mentoring is a developmental partnership through which a person shares knowledge, skills, information, and perspective to foster the personal and professional growth of someone else.
With a well structured program, “Those who can, not only do, but also teach.”
Mentoring may or may not be predicated based on delivery of that experience for a fee.
Yes, some see the benefit and are willing to share their field experience and knowledge for free! While others may not see the benefit. Others are willing to share their field experience and knowledge on a pay as you go system.
Some may see it as a scam, while others believe it has greater values. Perhaps others fail to see those outside of this forum that make mentoring successful.
Perhaps the issue becomes - does the notation of mentoring pose a threat to licensing in other areas?
For the termite inspector, as is true of electricans, plumbers, most of the trades, it is referred to as an apprentship, and you even get paid (not) much to learn the particular trade. I have no qualms with that. This “mentoring” program is a “pay for experience” program. So, lets call what is is!
Many, including myself, came from the trades (general contractor), but to become licensed in this instance, would require me to be mentored, despite my background.
Would an architect, who is “book trained” not have the knowledge nor ability to build a house? Even be a home inspector???!!!
I do agree, there are many entering the home inspection business from a wide variety of non construction professions. Their only “qualification” is, gee, I own a house and changed faucet once!
I will conceed you one point, experience is the BEST teacher!!!
Prospective inspectors SHOULD have a “working knowledge” of all phases of house construction, not just a book learned “what to look for, fill out the blanks on pages 1 throu 5” of report form XXX!
Maybe an Apprenticeship program, work under ??? for X amount of hours, is a more realistic approach. Mentoring, as it is now, will just become a “experience for sale” industry.
If it is a good idea and if it is worthy on its own merit, it would not need a law to make it happen. You would see it going on all over Canada, today.
Why don’t you? The majority cannot see the value and are unwilling to pay. The solution…require them to be mentored before they can be licensed to work.
Now…we got the newby by the nads.
He must pay whatever price he must or…his only other choice is equally as financially beneficial to his mentor who will someday be competing against him…and that is for the newby to find something else to do for a living.
I submit to you that all home inspectors want to be good…and that there would be no need for a law to require something that would make an inspector good…if it were already available and effective. Competition, itself, will thin the herd from those not willing to invest in knowledge and skill…but some folks cannot wait or count on that. They want to adopt the government into their marketing plan.
Want proof?
Go to any home inspector who advocates licensing and/or mentoring. Ask him to define the level of skill one should possess before being required to test, be mentored, attend a school…etc. Here is what you will always find in each and every case…the bar will always be set somewhere below their present level of skill, knowledge and experience.
Licensing requirements are always something that needs to be done to the “other guy” for the benefit of “the consumer”. No proponent of licensing…no matter what their various levels of skill, knowledge or experience…feel that they should fall under the requirements that they insist on imposing on others.
This is new to Canada…but not here in the USA.
You are simply reliving and replaying the same game that was started here in 1995. The tricks…the scams…the rhetoric…have already been played and exposed.
JAMES you are spot on!!
Your point of “below the present levil of skill” doesn’t go far enough, however.
It should be below the the least skilled, least experienced, currently licensed inspector. Kinda like a persons college grade standing, the lowest grade is an F. Therefore, the lowest bar should be a D. (A D grade in this country stands for "D, for developing)!! And, I surmise, that a D level licensed inspector would “qualify” as a mentor. Talk about the blind leading the blind!!!
4 Years to be a bug guy??? That is about 4 years too long. That is ridiculous. 
To be an applicator or inspector here it takes about a week, which is still 6 days too long.
Mentoring is the same as serving an apprenticeship or going to a Technical/PolyTechnical school.
And if you are fortunate enough to mentor another Inspector you would be surprised at some of the things you learn.
PS James I have a License and passed everything they threw at me. Not that big a deal. :mrgreen:
Now if they make it any harder, I might be the last guy left.