Certified Training Institute

What Certified Training Institute does

Certified Training Institute (CTI), operating under the legal entity BUILDERS LICENSE CLASS, LLC, is a Traverse City, Michigan-based provider of online continuing education and exam preparation for licensed professionals across multiple regulated trades. Founded in 1999, the company delivers video-based courses via its proprietary FUSION Learning Management System, which supports SCORM and xAPI interoperability, automated state-agency reporting of CE hours, mobile-friendly playback, and bulk training voucher distribution. CTI has built a catalog of 2,500+ online courses and operates dedicated sub-brands — Builders License Training Institute, Plumbers Training Institute, Architects Training Institute, and Real Estate Training Institute — alongside OSHA outreach training and a state-approved pesticide applicator training division covering 27 states with EPA-approved Worker Protection Standard content. Cumulative scale includes 430,000+ professionals trained and 350,000+ course completions.

The company's revenue model blends transactional individual course sales with bulk corporate training and recurring subscriptions. Individual professionals purchase courses on a pay-as-you-go basis through the e-commerce website. Businesses buy in bulk at tiered discounts (5% for 4–15 courses, 10% for 16–30, 15% for 31+) and manage employee training through the FUSION LMS. An enterprise WPS subscription is priced at $159 per year for up to 25 employees. Government agencies are served through a dedicated Government Solutions division, supported by SBA 8(a), WOSB, and EDWOSB certifications, DUNS #136682759, and CAGE Code 77A62, with past-performance references including the EPA (EPA Worker PST 00024) and USDA-NIFA Award #2018-51181-28436 via Mississippi State University.

CTI's go-to-market combines self-serve PLG for individual professionals with custom enterprise quoting for organizations needing more than 50 courses or OSHA 10/30 training, and direct government procurement. Marketing is driven primarily by SEO-optimized state-specific landing pages, an educational blog, email newsletters segmented by trade vertical, and organic social media. The company is privately held, owned by Teri Francis with Joshua J. Francis as Vice President, operates with 11–50 employees, and has been continuously operating for over 25 years.

Name

Certified Training Institute

Legal name

BUILDERS LICENSE CLASS, LLC

Website

https://www.certifiedtraininginstitute.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Certified Training Institute is a coaching institute that trains professionals for state-approved exams and helps them to achieve licenses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Continuing Education

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Technical and Trade Schools (61151), Other Technical and Trade Schools (611519)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Construction & Trades Licensure (Contractor, Electrician, Plumber, HVAC CE) (EDAAALAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Safety, Compliance & Regulatory (OSHA/HSE/GxP) Certifications (EDAAANAJ), Construction, Engineering & Skilled Trades Licensure Prep (EDAAANAL)

Keywords

• Online continuing education
• Professional exam prep
• Workforce training courses
• Licensed trade education
• Pesticide applicator training

Headquarters

HQ city

Traverse City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Individual Course Sales: Professionals purchase individual continuing education or exam prep courses directly through the website. Courses include official certificates of completion. Pricing varies by course and state.
2. Bulk Corporate Training: Businesses purchase multiple course seats at tiered discount rates (5-15% off for 4+ courses). Includes FUSION LMS access for managing employee training, issuing vouchers, and tracking progress.
3. Enterprise WPS Training Program: Annual subscription for unlimited or capped (up to 25 employees) Worker Protection Standard training. $159 per year for up to 25 employees, with unlimited use within that limit. Includes handler guides, tracking systems, and EPA-required documentation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Certified Training Institute provides state-approved online continuing education and licensing exam preparation courses for licensed professionals and trades across pest control, construction, plumbing, architecture, real estate, and OSHA safety. Courses are delivered as mobile-friendly HD video content via the proprietary FUSION Learning Management System, with bulk training vouchers, real-time progress tracking, and automated state CE-hour reporting for businesses and individuals.

Product overview

Certified Training Institute operates as a video-based eLearning platform providing online exam prep and continuing education for professional licensing across multiple industries. The core Certified Training Institute platform (built on the proprietary FUSION Learning Management System) serves as the main delivery mechanism for courses including video-based CE, practice exams, and company-wide training programs. The company maintains several sub-brands: Builders License Training Institute, Plumbers Training Institute, Architects Training Institute, and Real Estate Training Institute, each focused on specific licensed trades. Additional offerings include OSHA 10 & 30 training, Pest Control & Agriculture training with Worker Protection Standard (WPS) programs, and state-specific continuing education bundles. Business and Government Solutions divisions provide bulk training, custom LMS development, and SCORM/xAPI-compliant course development for organizations requiring scalable workforce training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Builders License Training Institute: Exam prep and continuing education solutions for builders and contractors, including NASCLA prep, manufactured housing courses, and company-wide safety training.
• Plumbers Training Institute
• Architects Training Institute
• Real Estate Training Institute
• FUSION Learning Management System (LMS)

Products and services

• Certified Training Institute Main Platform Primary video-based continuing education and exam prep platform for professional licensing, offering state-approved courses across pest control, construction, plumbing, architecture, real estate, and OSHA, accessible 24/7 from any device.
• FUSION Learning Management System Proprietary LMS that enables business accounts to manage employee training progress, issue training vouchers, track compliance records, and deliver SCORM/xAPI-compliant content with 24/7 mobile access.
• Builders License Training Institute Sub-brand offering state-approved exam prep and continuing education for builders and contractors, including NASCLA exam preparation, manufactured housing courses, and company-wide safety training.
• Plumbers Training Institute Sub-brand providing plumbing exam prep and continuing education built around the latest IPC and UPC codes, covering all skill levels from Journeyman to Master.
• Architects Training Institute Sub-brand offering AIA-approved continuing education courses for architects designed for busy professionals.
• Real Estate Training Institute Sub-brand providing real estate professional development, continuing education, and a 400-question practice exam course.
• OSHA 10 & 30 Outreach Training OSHA outreach training programs for construction and general industry, available for individual and bulk enterprise purchase.
• Pest Control & Agriculture Training State-approved pest control training including pesticide applicator recertifications, certification exam prep, and company-wide Worker Protection Standard (WPS) training.
• Core Standards Training Program and Practice Test Interactive study guide and practice exam for the National Pesticide Applicator Certification Core Exam, acting as exam preparation for most state certifications.
• Worker Protection Standard (WPS) Training Program EPA-approved annual subscription training program for agricultural workers and handlers covering pesticide safety, application exclusion zones, and EPA-required documentation; $159/year for up to 25 employees.
• Business Solutions - Company-Wide Training Bulk training programs for pest control and trade businesses with tiered discounts (5-15% off 4+ courses), training voucher management, and real-time progress tracking via FUSION LMS.
• Government Solutions eLearning platform and custom training programs for government agencies, including LMS development and professional workforce training approved at state and federal levels, available through standard government procurement (DUNS #136682759, CAGE Code 77A62).
• State-Specific Continuing Education Bundles Bundled courses tailored to specific state certification requirements, such as Wyoming Commercial Applicator 24-hour bundles covering General Safety, Ornamental and Turf, and Structural Pest Control.
• Category-Specific Pest Management Exam Prep Exam preparation courses for specific pest control categories including Structural, Ornamental, Turfgrass, and Vegetable crops, covering 65+ on-demand category-specific courses in 27 states.

Quantifiable outcome

• 430,000+ professionals trained
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Mississippi State University ExtensionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a training partnership and resource. Mississippi State University Extension has partnered with CTI for support of USDA-NIFA Award #2018-51181-28436, indicating collaboration on agricultural workforce development.
• Montana Department of AgricultureminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState government agency partner for pesticide training. CTI courses have approval from the Montana Department of Agriculture for continuing education credit.
• Michigan Rehabilitation ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMichigan state workforce development agency partnership for rehabilitation and training services.
• MI WorksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMichigan workforce development network partnership for job training and professional development programs.
• Home Builders Association of AlabamaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association partnership providing training resources for home building professionals.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Vector Solutions: Vector Solutions is a large compliance, safety and workforce training platform serving similar licensed professional markets (public safety, construction, healthcare, industrial) with a comparable LMS-driven, subscription and bulk-seat business model — directly competing with CTI for enterprise and government training contracts.
• 360training: 360training offers OSHA, real estate, and professional license CE courses with a self-serve online platform and bulk enterprise purchasing — competing head-to-head with CTI across OSHA10/30, real estate CE, and regulated trade training.
• ClickSafety: ClickSafety (part of Ascend Learning) specializes in OSHA, construction safety, and environmental compliance training delivered via an LMS — directly overlapping with CTI's OSHA, pesticide WPS, and trade construction CE offerings.
• Hard Hat Training: Hard Hat Training provides online OSHA and safety compliance courses for construction, general industry, and environmental applications, mirroring CTI's compliance training catalog with a similar self-serve and bulk-purchase distribution model.
• The CE Shop (Colibri Group): The CE Shop provides state-approved real estate pre-licensing and continuing education online — competing directly with CTI's Real Estate Training Institute across the same licensed-professional CE buyer.
• Aceable: Aceable delivers online state-approved real estate, mortgage, and insurance pre-licensing and CE on a mobile-first platform — overlapping with CTI's Real Estate Training Institute and consumer self-serve CE motion.
• CareerSafe: CareerSafe offers OSHA10-Hour and workplace safety training targeted at young workers and educational institutions, directly overlapping with CTI's OSHA 10/30 course offering.
• PDH Academy: PDH Academy provides online continuing education for licensed engineers, architects, and land surveyors — overlapping with CTI's Architects Training Institute and state-licensed professional CE delivery model.

Broad incumbents

• Coursera: Coursera is a broad online education platform offering professional certificates and CE-style programs across many disciplines; it serves some of the same licensed professional buyers but does not specialize in state-approved regulatory CE the way CTI does.
• Udemy: Udemy operates a broad marketplace of online courses including OSHA-aligned and trade-related content; it overlaps thematically with CTI's exam prep and CE catalog but lacks CTI's state-by-state regulatory approvals and integrated LMS for compliance tracking.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CTIpesticide
• Facebookfacebook.com/certifiedtraininginstitute

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Certified Training Institute