TRA IN ING Training Trends
As fuel oil dealers diversify, their training demands change BY S T EPHEN B E N NE T T
Manufacturers' representatives at Ed Os, Granby, Mass., handle HVAC product sales—and training—for companies including Honeywell, Hydrolevel, Rheem and Testo. Photo by Phil Doyle
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UST AS MANY FUEL OIL DEALERS ARE DIVERSIFYING TO KEEP THEIR businesses vital, some providers of training programs are adapting, adding to their course offerings to stay in step
with a changing industry. Basic training for oil heat technicians is popularly referred to
as "the Bronze course," followed by the Silver and Gold courses, signifying advanced expertise. "NORA originated all of those courses," said Traci Ross,
communication and education director for the National Oilheat Research Alliance, Alexandria, Va. However, the Alliance does not conduct the training sessions itself; instead it approves educators, who do the teaching. The courses are used in many states, and
AUGUST 2012 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com
offered by many state associations. In Vermont, the state licens- ing process requires that technicians complete NORA training, said Matt Cota, executive director of the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association (VFDA), in Montpelier. NORA maintains a list of approved schools and technical cen-
ters, as well as individual educators and proctors, on its website (nora-oilheat.org); it also works with the National Oil & Energy Service Professionals to coordinate training of trainers, and it sells instruction materials for the courses. In her role as education director for NORA, Ross manages
the exams that are given upon conclusion of course work, send- ing them to the approved instructors who request them. The
