Electricians are trained as an apprentice up to 4 years (depending upon how fast you learn and understand): then trained as a journeyman for another 2 to 4 years under a master electrician. There are trainings available for electricians who want to specialize or just learn. But some industry trainings are discouraging to those who went through the training especially if they automatically failed you on your first test. Some training falls short. They think that their training and knowledge is better than anyone else’s that’s been doing electrical work longer than 30 years. If you want to deceive and discourage somebody on a test, it is very easy to do that. But I disagree with computer generated tests that cannot be reviewed.
Have you ever gone through a class and were given sample tests? Then the class would talk about how you arrived at that answer. What if you took a sample test online, passed it and then failed the actual test? What if the teacher would not give back his test for review? How do you know if the correct answer key was used with a computer generated test? If you gave the wrong key for the wrong test, then guess what? You are going to fail the test.
One organization that does not return the test for review is NABCEP, the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners. This is a group that formed out of the solar power industry. They are not encouraging anybody: they are discouraging people. If they are the ones to oversee an industry, then they are making money falsely. In other words, if I create an industry and give a test from Farbe’s Electric that I want you to take and I don’t match up tests with the correct answer key, I can’t expect people to learn anything. It actually sounds like I am hiding something.
Any other school will give you the test back along with your answers to see any mistakes and to learn from them. NABCEP falls short. Is that really encouraging people to learn? No, it is not. What they are doing is dispensing a computer generated test and sending back a pass or fail grade. Take it or leave it.
There should have local reviews for local tests. If you can’t give local reviews for local tests then we shouldn’t be testing because that’s a waste. In other words, if you can’t review what you have done wrong, then how do you know what you have done wrong? How can you improve on what you have done? If they said you didn’t pass something or you didn’t complete something, you won’t know what you didn’t complete or pass. Sometimes a lot of the questions are based on the same ideas. That doesn’t mean anything. It means something only if you learned something.
They have schools for adults where you can study to get licensed within a field along with your training. If you create a school for the sole purpose of training people, then you need to help them correct the problems they fail. But NABCEP falls short because it doesn’t do that.
Should somebody be NABCEP certified in order to install solar? No. I don’t think so because NABCEP was formed to increase the knowledge of solar installers. But I don’t think anyone installing solar should be anything less than a state licensed master electrician to begin with. I don’t think solar installers should be outside the realm of electricians. Period.
Some states (like the one I live in) allows anyone to take the test to install solar. You can’t install solar unless you pass the NABCEP test. But this state has failed with that aspect because they allow anyone to go to school to take the solar installing exam. If you are not licensed, you must pass the test. If you are licensed as a general contractor, you don’t have to pass the test but can still install solar. I disagree with that totally. I know that some people are good at taking and passing test but are unable to figure or calculate (if necessary). Apprenticeships were formed so that they could engage in long term understanding of what they are doing. Not just saying A is A and B is B. The problem is that once you become tested, do you really know what you are doing? Can you install it? Do you have mechanical knowledge or the electrical knowledge to put that together? Some engineers come out of school, knew all the criteria (like standards and codes), but could not put items together. They needed an electrician to do it for them.
An industry has sold its concept to engineers that they have formed an organization across the US. This organization is accredited to installing solar. I’m not saying their curriculum is wrong or anything about their curriculum. What I have a problem with is their testing. If you can’t review a test, then don’t give a test.
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