WASHINGTON - North American Technician Excellence (NATE) released the results of an independent study conducted among HVAC professionals who work with NATE-certified technicians. The results revealed that these professionals believe NATE certification yields a positive effect on both the marketing and the operations side of business.
Decision Analyst conducted this survey online in March 2008. It sought to secure HVAC professionals’ attitudes regarding nine specific statements about NATE certification. The majority of respondents “agreed strongly” or “agreed” with each of the nine statements. The most highly-rated statements included: “Having NATE-certified technicians gives my firm a competitive advantage” and “My firm would provide time or money to help a technician become NATE-certified.”
More than 70 percent of respondents indicated they “agreed strongly” or “agreed” with these following statements as well. Seventy-six percent said, “The uncertified technicians in my firm are actively interested in becoming NATE-certified”; 74 percent said that “A technician who is trained and NATE-certified is more valuable to my firm than one who is trained, but not NATE-certified”; and 73 percent said that “Considering everything, NATE offers the best certification program for my firm.”
“This study is particularly interesting because it interviewed a range of construction occupations who work with NATE-certified technicians; not just contractors or other technicians,” pointed out Rex Boynton, president of NATE. He also noted a correlation that larger firms, those with five or more technicians, were more likely to have more positive attitudes toward NATE.
For more information, visit www.natex.org.
Publication date:05/26/2008
