April 1 Last Day for Public Input on Energy Efficiency Workforce Conformance Programs!
by Jane Weissman The Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. is participating in a new collaborative effort organized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ANSI has formed the Energy Efficiency Standardization Coordination Collaborative (EESCC) to help advance a coordinated approach to energy efficiency in the United States. The EESCC is currently collecting information about energy…
by Jane Weissman
The Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. is participating in a new collaborative effort organized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). ANSI has formed the Energy Efficiency Standardization Coordination Collaborative (EESCC) to help advance a coordinated approach to energy efficiency in the United States.
The EESCC is currently collecting information about energy efficiency standards, codes, guidelines and conformance programs within the built environmentthat are available or under development and is seeking the public’s input into the collection underway of energy- efficiency workforce conformance programs. EESCC will identify any gaps that may exist and then produce a roadmap to bring greater clarity to the overall EE standardization landscape. The roadmap is intended to augment and raise awareness of individual activities being advanced by many organizations with the objective of moving energy efficiency forward. It is not intended to displace or duplicate other work.
Christine Niero, a national expert in credentialing, and IREC’s Jane Weissman are co-chairing the EESCC’s Workforce Credentialing Working Group. They are in the initial stages of identifying energy efficiency credentials.
The group is looking for information on the following energy efficiency credentials:
- Personnel certifications that are accredited by a third party;
- Personnel certifications that are not accredited by a third party, but have an assessment that is valid and renewal requirements;
- Certificate programs accredited by a third party;
- Certificate programs that may not be accredited by a third party but uses a job task analysis, skill or competency standard, learning objectives, assessment and evaluation;
- Professional degree program resulting in a license (e.g. engineer or architect);
- Certificates or qualifications of inspectors;
- Other credentials that demonstrate formal evaluation based on defined criteria.
The EESCC has set up an online form to make it easy to submit information about relevant conformance programs. This online form is available on the ANSI website. April 1, 2013 is the deadline for comments.
Submissions should consider the following questions:
- What conformance programs related to the EE built environment currently exist and what are on the horizon?
- What is the goal of the conformance program?
- Who is the conformance program intended to serve, and how is it being used in the market?
- Is the conformance program being implemented at the state or federal level?
- What occupations or training types does the conformance program apply to?
In addition to conformance programs, there are other working groups gathering information on standards, codes, and guidelines.
More information on the collaborative can be found here.
