With a focus on improving the quality and consistency of commercial building workforce training and certification programs, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a new project called Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines.
These voluntary workforce guidelines will support the Better Buildings Initiative goal of making commercial buildings 20% more energy efficient over the next 10 years, while helping businesses and communities save money by saving energy and creating new clean energy jobs across the country.
The project will focus on creating programs for five key energy-related jobs:
- Energy Auditor
- Commissioning Professional
- Building/Stationary Engineer
- Facility Manager
- Energy Manager
The Energy Department has enlisted the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) to convene industry subject matter experts to develop the Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines. NIBS will establish a Commercial Workforce Credentialing Council comprised of private and public sector industry stakeholders to support this effort moving forward.
The guidelines will include an industry-validated Job Task Analysis for each occupation, certification schemes (blueprints), and learning objectives. The Energy Department and the General Services Administration will recognize assessment-based certificate and competency-based certification programs that successfully implement the guidelines and achieve third-party accreditation.
To learn more visit the Better Buildings website.
