In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CEDIA has rolled out the CEDIASTRONG initiative which will feature new services, tools and programs to support CEDIA’s 40,000 global members.

Included in the rollout are free financial planning tools and services, technical training and webinars, career planning resources, online business roundtable discussions and marketing content that members can use to promote their services locally.

“CEDIASTRONG was born from the COVID-19 pandemic and was designed to serve as a rallying cry for our industry,” CEDIA president and chief executive Tabatha O’Connor 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 following will come under the CEDIASTRONG banner:

• Free weekly financial sessions from advisors
• A COVID-19 Resource Centre which features financial, legal and regulatory information
• Career planning resources that help with resume creating and job searching strategies among others
• Waiving all fees for online courses and training so that technicians can hone their skills in this period of downtime
• CEDIA is also hosting roundtable discussions and live online events which aim to bring integrators and manufacturers together and share insights into how they’re conducting business
• And finally, once past the storm, CEDIA aims to establish a CEDIASTRONG Fund to provide financial assistance to members in need