You may have seen my previous posts, dealing with the need for continuing education toward the provision of certifications and licensing in the field of power engineering. I've attempted to underscore the need for a more highly trained and professional work force in our commercial facilities. Now don't get me wrong - I am not saying that well-trained and professional operating engineers and service technicians do not exist - they are out there. They are, however, as scarce as hen's teeth; especially if you are not within a jurisdiction that requires certification or licensing. Along with certification and licensing, requirements for continued education are necessary, given the swiftness with which new technologies are being employed in our commercial and industrial mechanical systems. Without a focused continuing education effort, your systems will lapse in to significant dis-repair and inefficiency far more quickly than you may realize. Facility owners and managers need to evaluate the training needs of their staffs and plan for these needs to be met in a sustained fashion. With all the new and re-designed assets that have been entrusted to you, how can you possibly ignore the fact that someone must be TRAINED to operate them efficiently. Your goals depend upon the safe and economic operation of your systems.
Do yourself a favor, and check out the newly posted training opportunites available from the National Association of Power Engineers, Inc. at http://www.powerengineers.com
We have had a lot of success with NAPE training. The key as you say, is a focused continuing education effort. That holds true not just for power engineering, but for all of the skillsets under the facility management domain, including custodians, facility managers, supervisors, grounds, etc. NAPE is a great resource for power engineering training and we consider them a partner in the education and proficiency of our staff.