North American Technician Excellence (NATE)
Founded in 1997, North American Technician Excellence (NATE) is the nation's largest non-profit certification organization for heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration technicians. Headquartered in Arlington, VA, NATE is the certification organization governed, owned, operated, developed and supported by the entire HVAC/R industry.
www.natex.org
Ventura County Contractors Association (VCCA)
The Ventura County Contractors Association is a non-profit membership association of general contractors, subcontractors, building material suppliers and many other leading construction industry businesses. Our primary area of service is throughout Ventura County and its ten incorporated cities.
www.vccainc.com
Contractors State License Board (CSLB)
The CSLB protects consumers by licensing and regulating California's construction industry. There are about 300,000 licensed contractors in the state, in 43 different licensing classifications. In addition to educating consumers about contractors and construction law, CSLB activities include administering examinations to test prospective licensees, issuing licenses, investigating complaints against licensed and unlicensed contractors, issuing citations, suspending or revoking licenses, and seeking administrative, criminal, and civil sanctions against violators. In fiscal year 2010-11, CSLB helped recover nearly $45 million in ordered restitution for consumers.
www.cslb.ca.gov
ASHRAE
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a building technology society with more than 50,000 members worldwide. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality and sustainability within the industry. Through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow's built environment today.
www.ashrae.org
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
LEED certification provides independent, third-party verification that a building, home or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2000, the LEED rating systems are developed through an open, consensus-based process led by LEED committees. The next update of the LEED rating system, coined LEED 2012, is the next step in the continuous improvement process and on-going development cycle of LEED.
www.usgbc.org
Sheet Metal Workers International Association (SMWIA)
The Sheet Metal Workers' International Association (SMWIA) serves to protect and raise the living standards of over 150,000 skilled men and women employed throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. We work in the construction, manufacturing, service, railroad and shipyard industries. The SMWIA strives to establish and maintain desirable working conditions for its members through their employers. Doing so provides them that measure of comfort, happiness, and security to which every member is entitled to in return for his or her highly trained and skilled labor. The SMWIA is affiliated with the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC).
www.smwia.org
