HVAC Training Gets Boost with New Partnership

This month, North American Technician Excellence and Interplay Learning are partnering to match up remote HVAC training with a new, alternative certification pathway for technicians.

With a growing shortage of skilled labor in the U.S. compounded by a global pandemic, traditional training programs are unable to meet industry demand for skilled workers. The collaboration of Interplay Learning and NATE – skilled trades online training and HVACR certification, respectively – signifies the readiness of the trades to move into the future of training, safely.

The well-known format known as “micro-learning,” which is at the core of the Interplay SkillMill platform, is now directly linked with a NATE credentialing program – available as preparatory classes for NATE’s new certification program.

NATE’s rollout of a new, alternative certification pathway, Certified HVAC Professional, allows users to attain a NATE certification through shorter, topic-focused exams. The CHP-5 offers a series of short, 30-question exams on functional areas of the trade as an alternative to the longer, more comprehensive, CORE and Specialty exams. While both programs cover the same material, this new offering provides technicians a more flexible path to training and earning certification.

The collaboration is possible today because Interplay Learning’s job-relevant virtual technical training aligns with NATE’s goal to measure the on-the-job competency of technicians. Both organizations recognize that the intent is not to replace hands-on training, but to offer a model of learning that promotes skill advancement and measurement. 3D simulations and VR-based training reinforce and add to hands-on training, yielding job-relevant skills that pave the path to certification.

Through the micro-learning format, Interplay’s accessible online training puts technicians in control of advancing their careers. NATE’s matching CHP-5 certification exam series allows technicians to build skills and ramp up credentials at higher rates than the traditional pathways have allowed.

For more info, visit https://www.interplaylearning.com.