Continuing education in Oregon is required for contractors.
As Oregon contractors know, continuing education is required in order to renew a license. Knowing what the educational requirements are and an easy way to complete them is important to avoid having a license expire. Following are some common questions raised by Oregon contractors and how to complete contractor school requirements more easily.
What Are the Educational Requirements for Residential Contractors in Oregon?
Oregon residential contractors are required to complete continuing education courses every two years for a total of eight hours. Three hours of study must be in the required core course, Laws, Regulations and Business Practices, which a contractor gets directly from the Oregon Construction Contractors Board. The remaining five hours must be either in the area of work safety, building codes or business management.
What Are the Oregon Requirements for a General Commercial or Specialty Contractor?
Requirements for the hours of continuing education required in Oregon depend on the number of key employees and endorsement level. Both general and specialty level one contractors must take between five and 60 hours of educational courses. The number of hours depends on the number of key employees. A contractor with one key employee must take 16 hours, up to those with at least five key employees who must take a total of 80 hours.General commercial or specialty contractors who are level two must take 32 hours of continuing education courses.
Convenience in continuing education is important to busy realtors.
What Defines a Key Employee?
Key employees can be managers, corporate officers, forepersons, superintendents or lead persons. Additionally, they can be anyone who is in charge of supervising construction activities. Class requirements can be completed by either one employee or multiple employees. This makes it much easier for a contractor to complete the requirements for relicensing.
What If a Contractor Holds Both Types of Licensing?
In Oregon, those who hold both residential and commercial contractor licenses must complete the educational requirements for both. This would be the eight hours required for a residential contractor and whatever is required for a general commercial or specialty contractor, which would be from 16 to 80 hours of attendance at contractor school.
What Types of Courses Can a Contractor Take?
Training programs that can help a contractor learn to operate a business more successfully or incorporate better building methods are acceptable types of courses in Oregon. This may include best practices, methods of installation, the science of construction or product training.
Do the Courses Have to Be Taken in a Classroom?
While some contractors might prefer in-house or classroom study, others prefer to take courses by either correspondence or online. Preference can depend on how much spare time a contractor has and whether convenience is important.
What Are the Advantages of Correspondence Courses?
Correspondence courses are a relaxing way to study because they come in a handy booklet that you can take along or relax with in the evenings or when it’s a day free from work. Additionally, the ability to check back to clarify points is a helpful aspect of correspondence courses.
What Are the Advantages of Online Courses?
The advantages of online courses are readily apparent. Since a contractor can study during any time that is free, it can be done from any location whenever it is convenient. In addition, online courses can be accessed using a laptop, iPhone, iPad, tablet or Android.
PDH Contractor Academy offers the contractor school courses you need, and all have been approved by the Oregon Construction Contractors Board. Courses are offered individually or bundled together for large savings. We report the successful results to the Oregon CCB and also provide the contractor with a copy of the certificate for each course, either by fax, email or regular mail. Those who hold contractor licenses in multiple states browse courses by state, or check out the courses that PDH Contractor Academy has to offer.