ARLINGTON, Va. - To support the launch of a new consumer Website expected in January, North American Technician Excellence (NATE) has announced changes in criteria to participate in its Consumer Contractor Connection (C3) contractor referral service.

Effective Jan. 1, 2009, the C3 program will continue as a free service but all contractors who participate in the 25 percent category will need to have 50 percent of their technicians NATE-certified to continue to be listed.

In addition to changing the criteria of the basic C3 program, NATE is raising the requirements to participate in the “Quality Circle” program, which is the “elite” level of the C3. The new requirements will move from 75 percent to 80 percent of total technicians NATE-certified with at least one NATE-certified technician in each area of service and/or installation a contractor provides.

“We are raising the technician excellence bar with the C3 referral service to provide consumers and homeowners with a valuable resource to help them find the very best contractors in their area,” said Rex Boynton, president of NATE.

The changes come as NATE launches a new dedicated consumer Website to showcase the C3 contractor locator to the consumer/homeowner in January 2009, featuring the value of NATE certification and how to find contractors who employ certified professionals. The new site will feature clickable maps and, for those contractors participating in the Quality Circle, an opportunity to do special messaging in their listing.

To update a C3 listing, click on the “Consumer Contractor Connection” link on the NATE Website at www.natex.org. For more information about the C3 program, contact Pat Lampel, chief marketing officer, at 703-600-0361 or by e-mail at plampel@natex.org.

Publication date: 11/24/2008