Grants & Green Job Programs

Colorado Governor Bill Ritter announces Green Advantage jobs program.

Rev Up Your Jurisdiction’s Economic Engine with Green Advantage^® Certification

Governments and governmental officials have a unique and pivotal role to play in expanding green jobs and business opportunities in the green economy, particularly as it relates to the built environment. Construction personnel throughout the country must be trained and credentialed in order to meet environmental and health goals. And to ensure that these credentialed construction personnel are employed, governments need to prefer or require certified personnel in their building project specifications.

Join with other workforce development and governmental entities to further advance this success story with these three steps:

• Coordinate with community and state training resources offering Green Building Workshops and Courses
  • Professional Training Organizations
  • Colleges and Universities, visit Colorado Green Education and Certification Model
  • Associations, Unions, and Construction Companies

   

• Include the Green Advantage Certification Exam with the program
  • Residential
  • Commercial
  • Commercial/Residential

   

• Use the  Green Advantage Field Personnel Standard  to write bid or construction document specifications that prefer or require Green Advantage Certified Practitioners (GACPs) on all of your jurisdiction’s capital projects.

Train, Certify, and Employ

Make sustainability a reality while providing local jobs for a qualified workforce. Here are some examples:

Finishing Trades Institute

This grant funded green building program is possible as a result of a $5.6 Million award made to the Finishing Trades Institute of the Mid Atlantic Region (FTI) from the Green Jobs Innovation Fund of the U.S. Department of Labor.   The FTI is partnering with the Finishing Trades Institute of Western Pennsylvania (FTI WPA) to provide training and Green Advantage Certification opportunities to 1900 participants.  The program, offered at the eight FTI facilities, is available at no cost and is designed for persons interested in pursuing careers in the building trades and other green industries. Participants successfully completing the program will receive OSHA 10 and First Aid/CPR certifications in addition to becoming Green Advantage Certified.  For more information about the Tri-Green Certificate Program and the Pre-Apprenticeship Program or to apply, please visit www.FTI.edu.

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Colorado Community College System

Colorado created a statewide industry-driven model to prepare and credential workers within the green building industry. Thirteen community colleges in the state provide a training program that offers Green Advantage® Certification among other trade specific credentials. The program instructs the state’s community college students on the latest in green construction practices and technologies and offers a nationally respected and accepted credential through Green Advantage. Governor Ritter states that the program is expected to serve as a national template for how to prepare and credential workers.

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Philadelphia Carpenters Joint Apprentice Committee (JAC)

Philadelphia Carpenters JAC sought and earned more than $270,000 under several grant programs, providing Green Advantage Exam prep training and Green Advantage Certification services to hundreds of members and workers throughout the region. With support of a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor, the JAC's Occupational Training and Recovery program trained 100 dislocated workers from July to September 2010. A second program drew on the JAC partnership with the Philadelphia Workforce Development Corporation and developed The Sustainable Training program to cover instructor salaries and student course fees. Finally, the Chester County Smart Energy Partnership's INCUMBENT Worker Training grant supported a third JAC program for employed workers in Pennsylvania. Working to create a green unionized workforce, JAC has selected Green Advantage Certification to meet the needs of the industry and the local job market.

Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC)

ARC announced two Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Training and Education Program grant recipients have included Green Advantage® Certification in their program. Proposed activities are expected to result in the development of new training and education programs or the creation of new jobs or businesses in the target communities.

HUD/National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA) and National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI)

NAHMA and NAAEI included Green Advantage® in the newly offered Green Property Management Program. The program ensures the latest techniques and technologies for making cost-saving green improvements are incorporated at properties nationwide. The Green Property Management program benefits on-site managers, maintenance staff, and supervisors of front-line staff at affordable and conventional apartment communities employing Green Operations and Maintenance Practices. 

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West Virginia Women Work

This agency combined Green Advantage® Certification with a well-established, employment-based, skilled trades training program designed to prepare adult women for entry level positions as statewide union construction apprentices, carpenter helpers, and laborers.