Welcome to our forum.
I just returned from Gecko (spa control pack) training through Artesian Spas in California. There was a good mix of dealers, their technicians, as well as techs who worked for general spa service companies (not retailers). Though I'm in sales, I will now be a Certified Spa Technician (assuming that I passed the test...). The Pentair Water people were at the seminar as well, so we were given information on the white goods (jets, etc.) as well as the pumps. All in all it was very informative and interesting. So, that doesn't fully answer your question, but it's a start.
Such certification, would help a technician sell his skills, but I question how this might benefit a consumer- I've met a few techs that claim they've had factory training and years of experience and still do some really bone-headed things to spas.
SurfDog, Are you looking for some side work?
Cgar mentioned Gecko and Pentair training. If I was to hire a technician, what would impress more than spa manufacturer certification would be spa component manufacturer training. If you have trained with Balboa, Gecko, Waterway, Pentair and Sta-rite you should be able to service just about any tub.
Such certification, would help a technician sell his skills, but I question how this might benefit a consumer- I've met a few techs that claim they've had factory training and years of experience and still do some really bone-headed things to spas.Unless there's a licencing bureau and standard testing, certification is only as good as the paper its printed on.
I repair medical equipment and I've seen good techs and bad. Although we have certification in my industry, I view it as a joke (I'm not certified), give me a tech who can really troubleshoot and repair equipment effectively and it doesn't matter if he/she has that piece of paper.
Windsurfdog,I agree with your view, it was one way that I wasn't looking at. In my industry, there's a sort of snobbery on certified techs vs non-certified.