Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines
The Department of Energy (DOE) has been working with the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and industry stakeholders to develop the Better Buildings Workforce Guidelines, which are voluntary national guidelines to improve the quality and consistency of commercial building workforce credentials for four key energy-related jobs: Building Energy Auditor, Building Commissioning Professional, Building Operations Professional, Energy Manager.
DOE Guidelines for Building Science Education
The DOE, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and other partners also developed the Guidelines for Building Science Education, which originally focused entirely on residential buildings, but has recently been expanded to commercial buildings as well. This guideline effort has focused on establishing a fundamental building science knowledge base for a wide range of building industry jobs.
Integration of Both Guidelines
The residential and commercial building programs are both interested in helping to create better buildings through an improved workforce. These program initiatives complement each other in many ways. The GBSEs pave the way for more specialized training and education offered by industry and academia, which lead to credentials that signify competency. The BBWGs cover credentialing for energy efficiency jobs—a critical area that DOE felt could benefit from incentives for credentialing bodies and building operators that would improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings.