NSSC Partners With Industry Group for Building Operator Training

The National Sustainable Structures Center at Pennsylvania College of Technology has partnered with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council, a nonprofit trade association of the energy-efficiency industry, to bring national Building Operator Certification to the Mid-Atlantic region.

Under an agreement signed in March, NSSC at Penn College provides access to its nationally recognized program – resources that include curriculum, training materials and a pool of instructors – as the licensed administrator of BOC training for six states (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia) and the District of Columbia.

“Penn College, through NSSC, is pleased to partner with NEEC to provide operators of commercial structures with techniques to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings,” said Tracy L. Brundage, assistant vice president for workforce and economic development at Penn College. “The industry-designed BOC certification program provides operators with a platform to better understand how their buildings function from an energy-usage perspective.

“Using both classroom and hands-on exercises, building operators will learn immediate application to reduce energy usage and improve cost savings while earning an industry-recognized certification. We at NSSC are pleased to play a part in their success.”

Under the partnership, students at the center will be eligible for training and credentialing opportunities through NEEC’s nationally recognized BOC program, a leader in energy-efficiency education for commercial building operations and maintenance personnel.

“The training is a perfect fit for building operators who want to tune their energy-awareness and management skills,” said John M. 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. Research shows, among other findings cited at the BOC website, that trainees are 30 percent more likely than nontrained personnel to engage in energy-efficiency practices – saving an estimated $20,000 per operator annually.

For more information about NSSC, which operates through Workforce Development & Continuing Education at Penn College, visit online.

For more about Penn College, email the Admissions Office or call toll-free 800-367-9222.