Training, Certification, and Accreditation: An Overview

1 | Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals eere.energy.gov

Training, Certification, and Accreditation: An Overview

NASCSP Annual ConferenceSeptember 13, 2012

Kelly Cutchin & Jennifer Somers


Objectives

• Provide an overview of accreditation and certification initiatives

• Describe how grantees fit into this scheme• Explain the options within accreditation and certification• Introduce you to the resources available


• The Standard Work Specifications: Doing the work right

• Accreditation of Energy Efficiency Training Programs:Training folks to do the work right

• Home Energy Professional Certifications:Proving that you can do the work right

Work Done Right

Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals Project


Define the Work

Verify the Training

Certify the Worker

Foundation of Success

How Do We Achieve Quality?


Let’s Talk Vocabulary

• Training Centers Apply• Based on training to JTAs of given

worker categoryIREC Accreditation

• Trainers apply• Can be included with Training

Center application

IREC Trainer Certification

• Workers apply• 4 Job categories, built on JTAs

National Home Energy

Professional (HEP) Worker Certification


Job Task Analysis


National Home Energy ProfessionalWorker Certifications

Retrofit InstallerTechnicia

n

EnergyAuditor

Crew Leader

Quality Control

InspectorSign up for Updates: [email protected]

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wip/certifications.html

mailto:[email protected]



IREC Accreditation – Many Options

IREC Accreditation (for training

centers)

Mobile Training

Affiliate Programs

Auxiliary Sites

Don’t need a bricks & mortar site to achieve accreditation.


IREC Trainer Certification Options

Certified Affiliated Master Trainer

• Work w/accredited center or independent master trainer

• 1280 Contact hours

• Curricula meets JTAs

Certified Independent Master Trainer

• No relationship with accredited center required

• Responsible for ensuring quality of facilities



• Policies/legal status

Certified Affiliated Instructor

• Work w/accredited center or independent master trainer


Certified Independent Instructor

• No relationship with accredited center required

• Responsible for facility quality, admin/mgmt.



• Policies/legal status


Resources are available NOW to start you down the path

Accreditation/Trainer Certification

• 90% Application Fee reimbursement (Sept. 2013)

• Technical support• Accreditation toolkit• JTA-aligned

curricula freely available

Worker Certification

• Exams free for WAP during pilot phase ($750 value per student)


Training Centers Offering Certification Subsidy


Extra Slides


Resources for Accreditation


The Weatherization Assistance Program is providing a subsidy to offset Accreditation application expenses for qualified training programs.

Subsidy Process:

1. Must have a documented relationship with a WAP state or local relationship

2. Must obtain a letter documenting the relationship and provide it to the DOE project officer for the state

3. The DOE Project officer will verify the relationship

4. The WAP will issue a letter to the training program verifying its qualification for the subsidy

5. The verification letter will be submitted by the applicant to IREC with the application

Important!

Training Programs must apply for the subsidy at the time of application.

Subsidy Program


Credential Fee Due With Application

Refundable if Candidacy is

Cancelled Prior to Desk Assessor

Assignment

Additional Fees Annual Fees

Accredited Training Program

$3,000, additional Job Task Analyses

$1,000 each

$2500 On-Site Assessment Travel Costs

$500

Certified Independent Master

Trainer

$3,000, additional Job Task Analyses

$1,000 each

$2500 On-Site Assessment Travel Costs

$350

Certified Affiliated Master Trainer

$500, additional applicants $400

each

Not Refundable ** $100

Certified Independent

Instructor

$750, additional Job Task Analyses $500

each

$250 ** $350

Certified Affiliated Instructor

$500, additional applicants $400

each

Not Refundable ** $100

Course Additions to Existing

Accredited Training Program

$350 Not Refundable ** **


Accreditation of Training Programs

Administered by the

Interstate RenewableEnergy Council

Qualified Instructors

High Quality Facilities

Complete Curriculum Based on the JTA

Props/Tools

Policies and Procedures

***Voluntary, third-party assessment of training provider quality


National Home Energy Professional Certification Pilot

• BPI will be administering a pilot program to establish passing scores for the 4 new certification exams

• All participants who pass the exam will receive certification

• 200 participants are needed to take both the written and field exam per certification. 800 total participants

• The pilot period will begin June 18th, 2012 and continue throughout the summer

• The anticipated national roll out for the certifications is late Fall 2012


Resources for Certification


Weatherization Training Center Certification Subsidy

• The Weatherization Assistance Program has set aside funding to reimburse eligible WTC for the fees associated with certifying individual workers

• Eligibility will be determined by a WTC’s status as a training program providing services to the WAP network

• WTC must commit to becoming accredited by IREC as an energy efficiency training program. The deadline to submit an application to IREC is December 31st, 2012

• Once IREC accepts the application, the WTC will be issued a reimbursement payment for the certification exams that were administered under the pilot

• The total amount for exam reimbursement will be 250/written and 500/field


30 Years of Technical Expertise


Standard Work SpecificationsFor Home Energy Upgrades

Define the Work

A National Baseline for Work Quality

Define the Work

Verify the Training

Certify the Worker


Standard Work Specifications

The Specification defines the minimum level of action

required to meet the Objective.

The Objective defines the required outcomes of the work.


The SWS and the Retrofit Process

SWS can be used as a menuof available measures to becalled for on the work order

SWS define the outcomes and minimum quality standards

of the installed work

Data Gathering

Analysis & Work Order

Analysis of data for energy savings opportunity, cost effectiveness and health and safety concerns

Systematic inspection of all building systems via a prescribed protocol

WorkInspection/ Reporting

Installation of measures called for in the work order

Post installation verification that work has been ordered and completed to national standards


…we can figure out what a worker needs to know to do the job right

Once we know what the work is…

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

Job Task Analysis


Job Task Analysis

• Identifies and inventories a job’s critical tasks.

• Formal process for determining and cataloguing what a worker does (what tasks).

• Skills are classified as either cognitive (mental) or psychomotor (physical); level of criticality is also assessed.

• Example: Energy Auditor needs to be able to:

• Set up blower door

• Run test in accordance with ASTM E779

• Record results of blower door test in diagnostic software, etc….

Job Task Analyses establish the foundation upon which strong training and certifications are built


Essential KSAs

• Identify the minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities that workers should possess to perform high-quality work

• Each Job Task has a corresponding set of essential KSAs

• Examples:

– Demonstrate ability to blow insulation at appropriate air pressure and material quantity…

– Demonstrate ability to prioritize air sealing measures to inhibit moisture migration…

– Demonstrate knowledge of basic building science, including aligning barriers, stack effect, moisture transfer…


The Accreditation of Energy Efficiency Training Programs

Verify the Training

Define the Work

Verify the Training

Certify the Worker

A national, 3rd party assessment of energy efficiency training programs


National Home EnergyProfessional Certification

Certify the Worker

Define the Work

Verify the Training

Certify the Worker

A national, job oriented certification program for the four most common

residential energy efficiency jobs


Building the Future: Market Expansion

Consistent, Quality Work

MultifamilyJob TaskAnalyses

(JTAs)

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

(KSAs)

Market Expansion

Private Market Integration

Healthy Homes

Federal Partners

National Evaluation


Jennifer SomersSenior Policy Advisor

Team Lead for Training and Technical Assistance

Office of Weatherization and Intergovernmental Program

[email protected]

Josh OlsenPolicy Advisor

Training and Technical Assistance SpecialistOffice of Weatherization and

Intergovernmental [email protected]



Training, Certification, and Accreditation: An Overview

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