DOE Quality Work plan
From 2013-2015, the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program instituted a comprehensive quality work plan that established the benchmark for quality home energy upgrades. The DOE Quality Work Plan (QWP) outlines the requirements for high-quality home energy upgrade work within the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP).
The QWP defines what is required when federal dollars are used to purchase weatherization services and leverages the resources developed through the Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals project. These resources include Standard Work Specifications for Home Energy Upgrades, accredited training, and advanced Home Energy Professional Certifications. The QWP not only defines how home energy upgrade work should be done, but it also outlines requirements for communication, training, and the inspection of work completed within the WAP program.
The DOE Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals project helps establish a national residential energy upgrade industry and a skilled and credentialed workforce. The project creates standard work specifications, advanced professional certifications for workers, and accredited training programs.
The SWS define the minimum requirements to ensure that the work performed during energy upgrades in single-family, multifamily, and manufactured homes is effective, durable, and safe. The SWS can be used as an industry guide for workers, training instructors, homeowners, and program administrators involved in the home performance industry.
The backbone of the accreditation process is the Job Task Analyses (JTAs). The JTAs for Single-Family Home Energy Upgrades reflect the four most common job classifications in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and home energy upgrade industry, cataloguing the knowledge, skills, and abilities that a practitioner needs in order to perform a given job effectively and safely.
The QWP portal is intended for states, training centers, and agencies to learn more about the new requirements, share resources/best practices, and foster collaboration within the network.
As part of the Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals project, DOE collaborated with trainers and technicians from across the home performance industry to develop high-quality, nationally recognized professional certifications. Learn more about the certification blueprint, how to get certified, and resources for training centers at the link above.
