[IATCB] News and updates for Fall, 2024

Hello Visitor,

The International Avian Trainers Certification Board and the International Animal Trainers Certification Board, IATCB, offers you a way to gain professional credibility, increase your earnings potential, and advance your career. We live in a competitive world, and animal trainers are no different than anyone else looking for advanced knowledge and skill in their profession.  IATCB endorses voluntary certification by examination for all professionals involved with animals, including trainers, educators, handlers, veterinarians, and all others involved in the care and handling of animals.

Need a little help? IATCB now has a Certification Grant Program

IATCB is pleased to introduce their new Grant Program. The purpose of the IATCB Certification Exam Grant is to remove financial barriers to certification for applicants volunteering or working in the field of animal/bird training who are interested in pursuing or furthering a training-related career.

IATCB will offer one bird trainer (CPBT-KA) and one animal trainer (CPAT-KA) grant per testing cycle. Please download the application form for more details. The form, when completed should be emailed to grant@iatcb.org.

This information is also on the web site, International Avian Trainers Certification Board - News (iatcb.org)

https://www.iatcb.org/newhome

Congratulations to Grant Recipient Kayla Simpson

Hello, my name is Kayla Simpson! I am the spring recipient of the IATCB certification exam grant and a brand new certified professional animal trainer-knowledge assessed!

As a Senior Ambassador Animal Specialist at the Dallas Zoo, my job combines two of my passions: conservation education and animal training. Every day I strive to inspire empathy for wildlife in zoo guests during encounters, free-flight shows, and behind the scenes experiences. Training is an integral component to the success our programming. By showing off natural behaviors, like a Harris’s hawk soaring overhead, or husbandry behaviors, like a porcupine receiving a voluntary nail trim, we can engage guests and provide the space for interpretation.

When I learned about the IATCB and the CPAT-KA exam from my colleagues, many of whom are certified professional animal/bird trainers themselves, I knew that this was the next step I wanted to take in my journey as an animal trainer. By pursuing this certification, I sought to build upon my foundational knowledge of animal training and increase my ‘toolkit’ of strategies to ensure the animals that I work with are set up for success when training. Thanks to the IATCB grant program, the financial barriers and stress were removed from this process, allowing me to instead focus on diving into the study material.

While studying for this exam, I found myself quickly identifying terms for concepts I had seen or even put into practice myself during training sessions but had not known the words with which to classify them. However, there were many topics that were completely new to me, like noncontingent reinforcement, as well as those which made me reevaluate my understanding of the topic, like the hierarchy of intervention strategies. Beyond these big picture training principles, I have now applied training techniques that I learned while studying to my own training plans. Most recently, this included how to build duration in the porcupine nail trim behavior mentioned above.

I’m so thankful for the IATCB grant program for providing this opportunity to me and I look forward to utilizing my skills as a certified professional animal trainer to benefit all of my colleagues, both the humans and the animals!

GET CERTIFIED:

To find the list of recommended reading material go to International Avian Trainers Certification Board - Home (iatcb.org) and go to “Get Certified”

2024/25 Testing Dates

*Applications will not be accepted after 11:59pm Eastern on this date

Our testing company, PTC has partnered with Prometric for Computer-Based Testing.  Learn More here.  With Prometrics there are no additional International Testing fees!!

Are you a Hopeful Certificant? 

Looking for the study guide for the CPAT- KA exam?  Click here

Looking for the study guide for the CPBT- KA exam? Click here 

To find the list of recommended reading material go to International Avian Trainers Certification Board - Home (iatcb.org) and click on “Get Certified”

Exam Fee for 2024 is US $410.  Professional Members of an IATCB partner, ABMA, AAZK, and IAATE qualify for the discounted fee of US $350. No additional fees for International Candidates.

STAY CERTIFIED & CEU’s:

Congratulations to our newest CPBT-KA and CPAT-KA! Your credentials are valid for 5 years from the date awarded. To renew the credential, you must either re-take the examination after five (5) years or accumulate sixty (60) Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) by attending IATCB approved workshops, seminars, classes, courses and conferences. Applications for CEU’s need to be submitted no later than two (2) months after attending. 

When you attend an event that has been approved by IATCB for CEUs, please use the Event Attendance form and email it to ceus@iatcb.org to claim your CEUs.

For more information on how to claim your CEU’s and the CEU policy visit the IATCB web site:

 International Avian Trainers Certification Board - CEU Events (iatcb.org)

Join us for #IVAD on September 7th! We can't wait to see what you're doing to help vultures. There is still time to sign up on our website if you are carrying out any fundraising or education activities.

The vultureday.org website is full of resources for a range of ages such as this vulture maze, color in pages for vultures, memory game and scrabble! #VultureAwareness Birdorable

Let us know what is your favorite species of vulture, and why?