Energy Management Curriculum
Background: This grant is a partnership between Edmonds Community College, Cascadia Community College, Washington State University Energy Program, and the Pacific Northwest Center of Excellence for Clean Energy. One of the objectives of this grant is to establish and disseminate industry-identified skills-based training options supporting energy efficiency related industries. To this end, the project researchers convened an Industry & Labor Taskforce which identified the need for two sets of skill profiles: energy project/program management and commercial building analysis.These occupational categories were identified because industry perceives a need for training in the skills needed for success in these areas.
Skill Profiles: Each set of Skill Profiles was created by a focus group, identified by industry, made up of subject matter experts, who met for one day discussing what each job category entailed. In brief, the process used to establish skill profiles generated detailed summaries of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to succeed in these targeted energy management occupational areas: energy project/program management and commercial building analysis. The results of these focus groups then went through a process of broader verification to ensure the accuracy of the results.
Curriculum Integration: These results can then be used to verify/modify existing courses or to create new courses and/or programs. On June 20, 2012, 50 educators attended the Pre-Summit Educators Institute that was held in advance of the 7th Annual Energy and Construction Best Practices Summit: Energizing America’s Workforce for Tomorrow. The agenda focused on disseminating grant research results as well as providing hands-on workshops and mentoring for implementing these results into programs and course curricula. The group of documents included in these materials was used at the Institute to help educators use these results for their classes/programs.
Document Listing and Instructions
1. Skill sheet for Energy Project/Program Management – This is a checklist of critical work functions, key activities, and core skills that were identified by Focus Group 1 for this job category.
2. Skill sheet for Commercial Building Analysis – This is a checklist of critical work functions, key activities, and core skills that were identified by Focus Group 2 for this job category.
3. New Course Development or Existing Course Assessment Template – This is a fill-in-the-blank form for developing a new course or assessing an existing one using the identified skills on
either or both Skill Sheets.
Skills for Commercial Building Analysis (key)(pdf)
Skills for Energy Program Mgmgt (key) (pdf)
New Course Development
1. Basic Team Communication Skills for Project Management by Debra Waddell (pdf)
Core Skills Analysis Tool (xls)
2. Alternate Energy Sources for Residential Construction (pdf), by Glen Martin
Lessons (pdf)
Learning Objectives (pdf)
Core Skills Analysis Tool (xls)
3. Electronics for Renewable Energy (pdf), by Ken Hovda
Suggested Reading List (pdf)
4. Living Building Renovations (pdf), by Perry Spring
Lessons (pdf)
Core Skills Analysis Tool (xls)
5. Introduction to Foremanship (pdf), by Ryan Bradt
Core Skills Analysis Tool (xls)
6. Advanced PV Design (pdf), by Larry Owen
Core Skills Analysis Tool (xls)