As one of the main voices in the kitchen and bath industry for more than 40 years, the NKBA has worked hard to meet the needs of the professionals representing the industry. The Association’s Professional Development Courses are specifically tailored to those needs. Through these courses, attendees have the ability to learn everything from design musts to sales techniques. Get the education you need, conveniently coinciding with the hottest industry trade show in the country.

NKBA Professional Development Courses

CKD/CBD Review Course & Exam - NEW

Tuesday, April 8th 
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

CKD/CBD Review Course
Instructor: David Newton, CMKBD
CEU: 0.8
NKBA hours: 8
For more information or to register call (800) THE-NKBA.
Attend this one-day accelerated class to prepare for the drawing portion of the CKD or CBD Exam. The first four hours will include a review of the NKBA Graphic and Presentation Standards. The afternoon session will provide a chance for the attendees to practice the specific areas of concern to them. A complete sample exam will be available for each person as well as a sample Specification Form project, elevation project and a mechanical drawing project. Each person attending the class will have the afternoon to work on the project of their choice with instant feedback from the instructor. Take advantage of this last minute practice session before the CKD/CBD Exam is given the following day.  

• Required materials: PRL volumes: Kitchen & Bath Drawing, portable drafting board & drafting tools.  Optional: PRL volumes: Kitchen Planning and/or Bath Planning.
• Costs: NKBA Member $300/Non-Member $380
• Cancellation policy: Cancellation requests for refunds are subject to a $25 cancellation fee and must be received by March 26, 2008.  No refunds will be made after April 2, 2008.

Wednesday, April 9th
12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. 
 
CKD/CBD Design Exam
Applications are due to NKBA by February 1, 2008.
Please see application for pricing. For more information or to register call (800) THE-NKBA.
The CKD and CBD design exam consists of design scenarios which must be completed within a 6-hour time frame.  These exams test practical skills in space planning, placement of fixtures, fitting knowledge, and basic presentation skills.  The candidate is required to produce four (4) project documents:  a floor plan, construction/mechanical plan, elevation plan, and complete an NKBA specifications form.  Exam registrations will not be accepted at K/BIS or on the K/BIS web site. 

Three-Day Professional Development Course
Tuesday, April 8th – Thursday, April 10th
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Kitchen & Bath Krafter
Instructor: Morton Block, CMKBD
CEU: 2.4
NKBA hours: 24
Krafter is the course that comes after the two core basic Starter courses, and acts as a review of the fundamentals of kitchen and bath design to effective selling.  Learn about appliances, countertop, cabinet construction, mechanical systems and measuring.  Using the NKBA’s Planning Guidelines and Graphic and Presentation Standards, you’ll be able to review a house plan and quote minor projects.  When all is said and done, Kitchen & Bath Krafter will teach you how to measure, design and draw a typical kitchen or bath, as well as how to use the sales process to produce a profitable project and a satisfied client.

• Prerequisites: Basic understanding of kitchen and bath layout, drafting skills, basic knowledge of cabinetry, or Kitchen Starter, or Bath Starter.
• Required materials:  Portable drafting board, calculator, and drafting tools.

Two-Day Professional Development Course
Wednesday, April 9th –Thursday, April 10th
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Documenting Bath Design    
Instructor: Les Petrie, CMKBD
CEU: 1.6
NKBA hours: 16
THIS IS A WONDERFUL COURSE TO PREPARE YOU FOR THE CBD PORTION OF THE CERTIFICATE EXAM!  Learning about the skills required to analyze the needs of your clients, specify products, create bath design solutions, draw & document your projects - & be more successful & profitable! This course focuses on how to apply the NKBA Planning Guidelines & Drawing Standards to your designs, as well as applying the NKBA Bath Design Survey & Specification Forms to your business. Documenting Bath Design will help you use relevant project documents to develop a proficiency in drafting, explain space-planning guidelines, & measure your mastery of skills & competencies within establish time constraints.

• Prerequisites: (1) Understanding of the NKBA Bath Planning Guidelines.   (2) Possess drafting skills, including NKBA Graphics and Presentation Standards. (3) Familiarity of business management forms used in documenting a project

• Required Material:  PRL volumes: Bath Planning and Kitchen & Bath Drawing, portable drafting board, drafting tools & calculator.

One-Day Professional Development Courses
Tuesday April 8th
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Kitchen Starter
Instructor:  Jeffrey Holloway, CKD, CBD
CEU: 0.8
NKBA hours: 8
Get ready to learn everything you wanted to know about kitchens and kitchen design (but may have been afraid to ask) – in just one day!  Sign up for this fun introductory crash course – perfect for jumpstarting your kitchen career or just introducing you to the world of kitchen design.  Learn basic product knowledge, kitchen planning skills, hand layout and much more.  At the end of the day, you’ll be more confidence and to interview a client and you’ll be able to design a simple L-shaped kitchen and specify the proper equipment.  This course is a fast and effective way to acquaint yourself with kitchen design. 

• Prerequisites: None required.

Wednesday April 9th
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Advanced Kitchen & Bath Design  
Instructor: Jennie Lund, CMKBD
CEU: 0.8
NKBA hours: 8
This thought-provoking, interactive course is designed to challenge experienced kitchen and bath planning professionals to expand their problem-solving expertise.  Created by a designer for designers, this day-long event is not an overview of our industry, nor a style discussion.  Rather, it is a detail-oriented, multi-faceted program focusing on applying both the instructor’s and the attendees’ design abilities in a refreshing, energized approach to kitchen and bath design.

• Prerequisites: Completion of the Kitchen & Bath Krafter Course or 2 plus years of kitchen and bath design experience.

Design for All, Universal Kitchen & Bath Strategies   
Instructor: Mary Jo Peterson, CKD, CBD, CAAPS, CASH
CEU: 0.8
NKBA hours: 8
Universal design is about change- changing times, changing abilities, and changing attitudes.  By definition, universal design is flexible and adaptable, making it accessible to or useable by all people, regardless of age, size, or physical ability, as much as possible.  To be done well, it is also attractive- with a sense of home rather than institution.  Join this interactive seminar to examine where we are today with universal design, and to advance your skills with this proactive approach to designing kitchens, baths, and homes that support and enhance life for household members in all our diversity, including changes that occur as we age. Case studies will be examined. After completing this course, you'll be able to improve your conversations with clients of all ages and abilities.

• Prerequisites: None required.

Bath Starter    
Instructor:  Jeffrey Holloway, CKD, CBD
CEU: 0.8
NKBA hours: 8
You’re just one day away from learning about bathrooms and bath design while having fun doing it!  Enroll in this introductory crash course – whether you want to jumpstart your bathroom career or if you’re just curious about the world of bath design.  Learn basic product knowledge, how residential plumbing systems work, bath planning skills, hand layout and much more.  In just hours, you’ll develop the confidence and skill to interview a client, design a simple 5’ x 9’ bath and specify the proper fixtures.  Bath Starter has everything you need to know about bathrooms and bath design.

• Prerequisites: None required.

Thursday April 10th
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Job Installation and Project Management    
Instructor: Jeffrey Holloway, CKD, CBD
CEU: 0.8
NKBA hours:  8
How do you Manage perfect  installations immediately?  Attend this course and learn the best installation ideas and the power success formula of over 750 successful designers, dealers, and contractors, who must have the job installed correctly and profitably the first time…every time…  You will learn 16 places to perfect your installations and discover the #1, SINGLE BEST SECRET OF great job managers.  In 4 hours, you will discover how to turn your installations from pain to profit – and how to create HAPPY CUSTOMERS time after time.  Don’t miss this seminar it will pay for your K/BIS trip many times over. 

• Prerequisites: None required.

Mind Your Own Business 
Instructor: Ken Jones, MBA
CEU: 0.8
NKBA hours: 8
Spend some time working on your business for a change rather than working so hard in it.  Accounting is not magical but a necessary evil – let’s put together a dash board for your business that delivers the pulse-points specific to your needs. MYOBusiness is an “edutaining” combination of relevant, open discussion-based topics specifically geared towards your business.  Don’t learn from a model, learn from the issues specific to you. 
Ken Jones is a Master Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies and an entrepreneurial himself. He will show you detailed marketing plan outlines, idea creation through a process called SCAMPER, compensation plans that work, real value creation strategies for your business, the velocity of working capital, and business planning approaches.  Learn how to increase the surface area of your business to your marketplace.  More importantly, have some real exchange of ideas with no competitive infringement.

• Prerequisites: None required.

Monday April 14th
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Advanced Kitchen & Bath Design
Instructor: Jennie Lund, CMKBD
CEU: 0.8
NKBA hours: 8
This thought-provoking, interactive course is designed to challenge experienced kitchen and bath planning professionals to expand their problem-solving expertise.  Created by a designer for designers, this day-long event is not an overview of our industry, nor a style discussion.  Rather, it is a detail-oriented, multi-faceted program focusing on applying both the instructor’s and the attendees’ design abilities in a refreshing, energized approach to kitchen and bath design.

• Prerequisites: Completion of the Kitchen & Bath Krafter Course or 2 plus years of kitchen and bath design experience.

Conquering the Great Outdoors
Instructor:   Ellen Cheever, CMKBD, ASID
Sponsored by Viking
CEU: 0.4
NKBA hours: 4

• Prerequisites: None required.

The course will cover four components of green design as they relate to designing and constructing sustainable bathrooms and kitchens:  water conservation, energy conservation, material conservation and indoor air quality.  In addition to these four components lighting and control systems, kitchen cabinet construction, radiant heating, recycled and salvaged materials, sustainable finishes,  Energy Star® appliances and indoor air quality IAQ will be addressed in detail.

The course will show designers and fabricators how to measure their success with green products and the LEED System of benchmarking while showing them how designing green can be affordable by applying for State and Federal Funds. Finally, a list of green resources will be provided to obtain current news, product information and design practices for the sustainable home.

• Prerequisites: None required.

• Prerequisites: None required.

Thursday, April 10th
8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Healthy Designing    
Instructor: Daniel Stih, BSE, CMC, CIEC
Presented by Healthy Living Spaces
CEU: 0.4
NKBA hours: 4
Green means different things to different people. Some green designs focus only on energy efficiency and using sustainable materials. Green can also mean healthy. Home owners and clients are beginning to expect both. This course will help you design both green and healthy interiors. The seminar starts with the basics of how indoor air quality and health can be affected by remodeling and what you can do to prevent common problems. It includes discussions on common, but hidden health disasters. Later in the course, Dan Stih discusses specific ideas and recommendations for kitchens and bathrooms, from choosing building materials, paints, finishes and flooring products to help you create that green and healthy environment your client will demand!

• Prerequisites: None required.

The program begins with the physical properties of air movement, covers the wide-range of available design choices, and plots the duct path to the house exterior.  Design and ventilation of mantel hoods, the advantages of exterior-mounted and in-line blower systems, as well as review the emerging internationally designed “sculptural” hood, will also be addressed.  Ventilation for the bathroom will be thoroughly studied as well.

Thursday, April 10th
1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

• Prerequisites: None required.

Residential Green    
Instructor: Mary Jo Peterson, CKD, CBD, CAAPS, CASH
CEU: 0.4
NKBA hours: 4
It’s no surprise that as attention to the greening of our built environment turns increasingly to our homes, kitchens and baths become key sustainability elements, and that eco-friendly kitchen and bath design and products are in demand.  We know that green is not only popular, but also important to what we do, to the clients we work with, and to our lifestyles.  This four hour course builds on the global environmental concerns and looks beyond them to what we as kitchen and bath designers can do differently to contribute to the sustainability movement. Designs and products for kitchens and baths that enhance the home's energy efficiency, health, comfort, and durability are among the green concepts to be discussed in this course.  Professional Designer Mary Jo Peterson will present you with ways in which you can work towards the greening of your projects.  

• Prerequisites: None required.

Designing With Color   
Instructor:  Ann Morris, CMKBD, ASID
CEU: 0.4
NKBA hours: 4
This interactive 4 hour program is aimed at reviewing and learning the basics of the color wheel and how it applies to kitchens and baths. Understand the psychology of color and how color can enhance your clients' personalities. Review expert and televised kitchens and baths from award winning Ann Morris, CMKBD, also a Parsons School of Design graduate. She will show you how color can transform two ordinary rooms into two extraordinary rooms. You will create your own color wheel and learn how this unique skill will enhance your professional designs

• Prerequisites: None required.

Monday, April 14th
8:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

Healthy Designing  
Instructor: Daniel Stih, BSE, CMC, CIEC
Presented by Healthy Living Spaces
CEU:  0.4
NKBA hours: 4
Green means different things to different people. Some green designs focus only on energy efficiency and using sustainable materials. Green can also mean healthy. Home owners and clients are beginning to expect both. This course will help you design both green and healthy interiors. The seminar starts with the basics of how indoor air quality and health can be affected by remodeling and what you can do to prevent common problems. It includes discussions on common, but hidden health disasters. Later in the course, Dan Stih discusses specific ideas and recommendations for kitchens and bathrooms, from choosing building materials, paints, finishes and flooring products to help you create that green and healthy environment your client will demand!

• Prerequisites: None required.

Residential Green
Instructor: Darrill Andries, CKD
CEU: 0.4
NKBA hours: 4
It’s no surprise that as attention to the greening of our built environment turns increasingly to our homes, kitchens and baths become key sustainability elements, and that eco-friendly kitchen and bath design and products are in demand.  We know that green is not only popular, but also important to what we do, to the clients we work with, and to our lifestyles.  This four hour course builds on the global environmental concerns and looks beyond them to what we as kitchen and bath designers can do differently to contribute to the sustainability movement. Designs and products for kitchens and baths that enhance the home's energy efficiency, health, comfort, and durability are among the green concepts to be discussed in this course.  You will be presented with ways in which you can work towards the greening of your projects.

• Prerequisites: None required.