ARLINGTON, Va. - North American Technician Excellence (NATE) announced it is continuing to show its support for the United States military by extending certification for HVAC technicians called to active duty. From the day NATE-certified military service members deploy, their NATE certification is deferred until they return, ensuring that the technician comes back to work with the same qualifications as when he or she left. Upon their return, the technician receives all new NATE certification documents and the expiration date of their certification is extended to reflect their time in service.

“All of us at NATE feel that this policy is critically important for our NATE-certified technicians active in the military, and it is the least we can do to support our troops,” said Patrick Murphy, vice president of certification for NATE. “The last thing these honorable and esteemed professionals need to worry about is the status of their certification. By stopping the clock on their NATE certification, we aim to do our small part in helping these technicians pick up where they left off when they return from serving our country.”

Active duty technicians can simply contact NATE upon their return to process the certification extension and to have their new documents shipped. Mark Butler, a NATE-certified technician and reservist who most recently served in Iraq and Afghanistan from September 2008 until November 2010, recently reached out to NATE regarding the status of his certification. “It means a lot that NATE is willing to re-up our certification to make up for the time we’re overseas,” said Butler. “Once I found that out, it was one less concern for me as I made the transition from active duty in the Middle East back to my work as an HVAC technician in Massachusetts.”

For more information about this policy, contact Murphy at PMurphy@natex.org.

For more information about NATE, visit www.natex.org.

Publication date: 04/11/2011