No you dont have to purchase their equipment and chemicals to be certified.
You do have to purchase their certified applicator educational program and pass a test. After that, you can use the SWS certified applicator logo. To use the authorized or 5 star logo’s, you have to use their equipment.
I purchased the educational program, and it is a very professional and thorough introduction to the industry. I got it at a discount at one of their paid events. It’s about 10 hours in total, and it covers everything from safety and regulations (ladder/PPE/road), to the basics of treating different surfaces, to plant and property protection, and a lot more.
Yeah, you can find pretty much everything on the internet… but the same can be said about virtually any topic or industry that offers an online certification… or really any college course in general.
Personally there are a couple of opinions that they present that i dont agree with (like claiming that a pressure washer cant soft wash), but overall, the science and information is solid. I feel like i got my money’s worth, but whether or not you would feel the same, i cant answer.
You can also use the program to train new employees, if you want, which is pretty handy. It comes with a workbook, and has specific lead tech and assistant tech videos.
As far as i know, it’s about the most professional online program around. Doug Rucker offers an online course, and i have purchased it as well, but i haven’t sat down and really went through it enough to be able to say one is better than the other. SWS’s is more of a classroom lecture style learning, while Doug’s is more of a hands on nuts and bolts series (with some lectures as well).
SWS gets a lot of hate, but there are some solid dudes in the organization. Any knucklehead can google ‘how do i clean a roof’, and within hours know the exact chemicals and methods of the top roof cleaners in the country, but making a successful career out of that is a different story. SWS’s approach is less about ‘how do i wash’, and more about ‘how do i succeed’… at least from what i’ve seen… but i am certainly not an expert on their organization.
As with anything, there is no guarantee for success, so do your research before you spend your money.
