Key Outcomes

Focus on Energy recruited nine individuals in 2022 to participate in the pilot, six in Spring and three in Fall. All candidates were asked to contribute $750 towards the RESNET training and certification. Focus covered the balance of the training costs (valued at up to $4,600) and provided blower door equipment at no cost ($7,000 value) to any candidate who passed the written exam.

Three of the Spring 2022 candidates passed the written exam and were paired with an existing BPC in an apprenticeship relationship to complete the required probationary ratings. Apprenticeships lasted four to six months, and individuals mainly supported field inspections. BPCs were reluctant to fully integrate apprentices into their operations due to the short duration of their relationship or due to seeing the apprentice as future competition. One BPC used the training to develop an existing staff member which they noted gave their business the opportunity to expand participation with Focus by approximately 25%. All three Spring candidates achieved full RESNET certification from participating in the Pilot.

All Fall 2022 candidates passed the written exam. Given the experience of the Spring candidates, Focus opted to forgo the apprenticeship relationships and utilized existing Focus field-staff to help BPC candidates complete the required probationary ratings. At of the end of the pilot, the three Fall 2022 candidates were still in the process of completing their required ratings.

Lessons Learned

• Candidate Recruitment: Greater familiarity with building science and construction practices led to individuals having a better understanding of the training topics and greater likelihood of being successful in the RESNET training portion. Recruiting from related trades or partnering with institutions of higher education/vocational training proved to be most effective at identifying candidates.

• Training and Equipment: Students who have prior experience with online learning, or who have used videoconferencing tools, faced far less frustration with the online-only learning model currently utilized for RESNET certification. Terms associated with ownership of the blower-door equipment should be more detailed in the Participation Agreement and should be aligned with RESNET certification achievement to encourage candidates to complete the entire process.

• Apprenticeship: There were limited apprenticeship opportunities for participants as existing BPCs were reluctant to “train their own competition.” For those who did take on an apprentice, they saw the greatest value in these individuals supporting data collection in the field. It proved to be most effective for Focus on Energy to forgo the apprenticeship path and use our own technical staff to support the students in completing the required Probationary Ratings.

Recommendations and Next Steps

The pilot proved effective in adding BPCs to the Focus on Energy network and has continued as a standard offering in the Focus on Energy Residential New Construction program. The offering has since expanded to provide new and existing BPCs the opportunity to receive ENERGY STAR® certification as well as a Rater Field Inspector (RFI) path.

Questions?

Contact the Future Focus team at futurefocus@focusonenergy.com.