ABC - First Green Collar Job Training Curriculum Unveiled in Washington, D.C.

Home >> Newsroom >> Newsletter >> 2008 Archives >> Issue 33 >> First Green Collar Job Training Curriculum Unveiled in Washington, D.C.

FIRST GREEN COLLAR JOB TRAINING CURRICULUM UNVEILED IN WASHINGTON, D.C. (08/20/2008)

Washington, D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Councilman at-Large Kwame Brown Aug. 20 announced that Washington, D.C. has implemented the nation’s first green jobs training curriculum for current construction workers in the District of Columbia as well as students entering the District’s construction trades program.

The 15-hour course will introduce participants to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System. Specifically, the curriculum will train workers to recognize the challenges that construction presents to the environment, identify eco-friendly alternatives to conventional building practices and understand the life cycle of a building and the impact it has on the environment.

Mayor Fenty thanked the D.C. Green Building Council and Associated Builders and Contractors for their support and assistance in implementing the program in the District.

“Now, when people ask me what a green collar job is, I can point to specifics,” said Councilman Brown. “This training will lead to important results: a greener, more sustainable city and the jobs that go with it. The District is looking ahead to the future, and we’re fortunate to have partners who want to bring hope to our young people.”

The green jobs training curriculum was developed by the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) in conjunction with the Green Builders Council of D.C. and the Sustainable Facilities and Infrastructure Research Team of the Myers-Lawson School of Construction at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Va. The program can be administered by any NCCER-certified instructor and will be implemented at ABC chapter training facilities across the country beginning this fall.

For more information, visit www.nccer.org.