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Look for the NATE
Patch
Consumers demand technician excellence, and NATE-certified technicians deliver.
What is NATE?
NATE stands for North American Technician Excellence, and it's
the only nationwide certification program accepted by the entire heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration
(HVACR) industry – contractors, manufacturers, the Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA), and technicians themselves.
Are all HVACR technicians certified by NATE?
NATE is a voluntary certification
program designed to ensure that qualifying technicians have a core set of competencies and can be trusted by the consumers
who hire them. NATE is the culmination of several years’ worth of work by ACCA and other industry organizations to establish
one single, nationwide certification.
Over the past few years, NATE has grown considerably. More than 20,000 technicians
have been NATE-certified and the list continues to grow. With a strong endorsement from the leading manufacturers of HVACR
equipment, NATE certification is the standard by which all technicians should be judged.
Don't
you want third-party reassurance that the technician in your home is a capable, qualified individual?
Nearly
90 percent of consumers do. Ask your contractor if he or she employs NATE-certified technicians, and request that only NATE-certified
technicians service your system. Some contractors choose to show off their NATE-certified status in ACCA's online Contractor
Locator, and others do not. Be sure to ask.
Is the NATE certification really meaningful?
Yes! The NATE certification is rigorous and voluntary. There are other third-party certification programs out there, but
they have suspiciously high "pass" rates. NATE has the lowest pass rate and is the only nationwide certification
program endorsed by the HVACR industry across all levels. Technicians, contractors, manufacturers, utilities, educators, wholesalers,
and leading industry trade associations support NATE, and industry organizations such as ACCA have helped develop the tests
to ensure they maintain high professional standards.
In short ... ask for NATE-certified technicians. And look
for the NATE patch!
© Air Conditioning Contractors of America Association, Inc., www.acca.org. Reprinted with permission.
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