Centurions were Roman commanders who had 100 trained men in their command; they were the guardians of their government. Members of NATE's Centurion Club are those groups that administered 100 or more tests in 2004.

Rex Boynton, president of NATE noted, "These testing organizations worked hard, and we wish to thank them for that hard work."

Technicians in North America had little trouble finding a convenient NATE testing session last year, according to Boynton. On average nationwide, there were five testing sessions daily. NATE's record-breaking 2004 saw 21,040 total tests administered, 10,190 technicians tested, 5,869 technicians earn certification, and 1,696 testing sessions held.

"These testing organizations are helping the HVACR industry create verifiably better trained and more knowledgeable technicians to address the trained technician shortage," Boynton said.

"A key element to this is readily available testing to validate the training the technicians have had."

Publication date: 05/23/2005