At its meeting in Honolulu, the board of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) passed a motion to endorse the Partnership for Air Conditioning, Heating, Refrigeration Accreditation (PAHRA) program. PAHRA, a partnership between heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration educators and the industry, is available nationally for HVACR training programs that meet and/or exceed industry-validated standards in such areas as instructors, students, curriculum competencies, facilities and fiscal responsibility.
"ASHRAE is pleased to endorse the PAHRA program to complement our education program and outreach to students," ASHRAE President Donald Colliver, Ph.D., P.E., said. "It's a good thing when our industry can join together and work with those schools that excel in training the next generation of technicians."
Programmatic accreditation can help HVACR training programs obtain federal, state and local funding because they have been accredited by a recognized body. HVACR training programs have been declining in number in part due to inadequate funding.
PAHRA's programmatic accreditation program was validated by representatives from each major HVACR trade association and is available to all training programs whether they are secondary, post secondary, public or private.
