April 17, 2013 – The Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) is pleased to announce an exciting new education partnership with the National Sustainable Structures Center (NSSC) at Pennsylvania College of Technology, which will bring the national Building Operator Certification (BOC®) to building operators in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region, specifically Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and District of Columbia. NEEC and Penn College entered into a license agreement for the national program in March of 2013. Under the agreement, NSSC at Penn College will serve as the licensed administrator of BOC training for the six states and the District of Columbia with access to the resources of the national program — curriculum, training materials and instructor pool — to provide programming in their territory.

NSSC is dedicated to providing building science and energy conservation training in both the commercial and residential fields so offering BOC is a natural fit. NEEC and NSSC share the common goal of providing high quality educational programming for skill enhancement in the energy efficient operation and maintenance profession. Under the partnership, students at the center will be eligible for training and credentialing opportunities through NEEC’s nationally recognized BOC program. The Building Operator Certification (BOC®) training is a leader in energy efficiency education for commercial building operations and maintenance personnel.

“The BOC training is a perfect fit for building operators who want to tune their energy awareness and management skills,” says John “Jack” Wilson, NSSC’s BOC program manager. “The certification is designed to cover all trades that interact with the structure. The combination of classroom training and project assignments completed at their facility really drives home how the employee can start to take control of the overall energy consumption of a structure.”

Stan Price, executive director of NEEC said “We are very excited about this partnership between Pennsylvania College of Technology and the Building Operator Certification program. Penn College is an educational leader and innovator and a perfect match for a training and credentialing program that increases the knowledge, skills and abilities of facility professionals for resource efficient building management. We look forward to working with Penn College’s National Sustainable Structures Center and the success of the BOC effort in the Mid-Atlantic region.”

BOC is an experience and training-based professional certification that provides energy-saving operational strategies for facility and building staff, technicians and engineers. Participants benefit from both improved job skills and more comfortable, energy-efficient facilities. The certification also provides a credential for professional development while offering employers a way to identify skilled operators. Participants save money for their organizations almost immediately upon starting training through projects geared to deal with their specific facility issues. For facility directors interested in examples of how participants are putting BOC to practice in their facilities, an extensive body of evaluation research can be found on the BOC website. This research shows, among other things, that BOC-trained operators are 30% more likely to engage energy efficiency practices than non-trained operators – to the tune of $20,000 savings annually per operator.

ABOUT NEEC & PCT/NSSC

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) is a non-profit trade association of the energy efficiency industry. Pennsylvania College of Technology is a special mission affiliate of Penn State University, committed to applied technology education. The National Sustainable Structures Center operates under Workforce Development & Continuing Education at Penn College, which offers noncredit training and workforce development to industry and the general public. For more information about NSSC, visit www.pct.edu/nssc.

CONTACT

Russell Paez, NEEC
russell.paez@putnamprice.com

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