Career Resources > Resources > Pros & Cons of Training Options
The green Home Performance industry is still growing, which means that the options for training are still being developed. Based on HPR Center's research, green Home Performance professionals are receiving their training from the following affiliates:
-
Nonprofit or community-based training centers
-
Community college courses
-
Union training programs
-
Industry certification training affiliates
-
Online courses
-
On-the-job training
Each type of training program has advantages and disadvantages depending on the population being trained, the goals of the program, the resources available, and the needs of the local Home Performance industry. The most effective training is a combination of the different program types. The chart below summarizes the pros and cons of the various training options.
Pros & Cons of Training Options [1]
The flood of money recently made available for green workforce training has not only created new Home Performance training programs across the country, but has also supported the expansion of existing training programs, such as those for BPI Building Analyst or HERS Rater certification.
Many training programs are still in their infancy and have been modifying their curriculum and training style in response to employer feedback. Though the Department of Energy’s standards development process should help provide some consistency in training. Based on feedback from interviews with industry leaders, the following section presents a brief overview of the industry’s perspective on the six different training program types most commonly utilized by the industry today: 1) nonprofit or community-based training centers, 2) community college courses, 3) union training programs, 4) industry certification training affiliates, 5) online courses and 6) on-the-job training.
