The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) is seeking public comments on proposed changes to its flagship PV Installer certification program. The proposed changes are intended to better align the certification name, job description and eligibility criteria with the PV industry. NABCEP Chairperson, Don Warfield states, "The PV industry has grown enormously in the past decade. Similarly, the installation segment of our industry has grown and evolved as well. As a consequence of this evolution there are often multiple people on a given job site who make decisions that have a material effect on the quality and serviceability of the installation. Our original model of a single person being 'in charge' is no longer reflective of a significant number of PV installations" The proposed changes include a name change of the certification to NABCEP Certified Installation Professional, changes to the introduction, scope statement and, notably, to the job description in the Job Task Analysis (JTA) and the eligibility criteria.

The changes are summarized in the following paragraph taken from the proposed introductory text of the JTA: 

NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professionals work in a variety of responsible roles on PV installation jobs. He or she fulfills a decision-making role that helps ensure the quality and serviceability of the PV installation. The scope of the JTA is such that Certified PV Installation professionals fill a wide range of job positions within the industry, taking responsibility for installations of varying size and complexity. As such, the scope of their duties may vary considerably. Due to the range of responsibilities and skills that may fall within the scope of a NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional’s job duties, this Job Task Analysis is very broad in scope: not all certificants will perform all the tasks described herein.

The eligibility criteria for the certification examination will expand to include individuals who fulfill job duties that include but are not limited to: designer, project manager or superintendent. NABCEP Executive Director, Ezra Auerbach says, “A person whose job role involves making decisions that affect the outcome of the installation will be considered for eligibility providing that they can document the requisite training and experience.”

Auerbach notes, “It is essential to understand that these changes will not alter the basic JTA or exam for the certification. The same topic areas will be covered, and the exam will retain the same level of difficulty. We also want to assure those who already hold the PV Installer Certification that these proposed changes will not affect their status as NABCEP certificants." Once the proposed changes are finalized, all currently certified individuals will be designated as NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professionals.

NABCEP actively seeks input from interested stakeholders on these changes and will take comments received into consideration when publishing a final version of the proposed changes. To review the proposed changes in their entirety and to offer comments on them please visit http://www.nabcep.org/news/proposed_changes. Comments will be received until midnight December 9, 2012.

The eligibility criteria for the certification examination will expand to include individuals who fulfill job duties that include but are not limited to: designer, project manager or superintendent. NABCEP Executive Director, Ezra Auerbach says, "A person whose job role involves making decisions that affect the outcome of the installation will be considered for eligibility providing that they can document the requisite training and experience."