Program Sparks Energy Efficiency Experts
Thanks to a $1-million grant from the federal government, the South Middlesex Opportunity Council has launched a training program that prepares people to work in the fields of weatherization and energy conservation.
SMOC, a nonprofit community development center for the MetroWest area, launched the Green Jobs Academy last year and has already graduated 46 individuals from the program, opening the door for the students to work in the energy efficiency field.
Last month the academy also opened its Weatherization Training Center in Framingham, which includes hands-on laboratory space for trainees to test their insulation installing skills and classroom space for instruction.
The program has partnered with 21 area contractors who can receive federal subsidies for working with the graduates, and organizers are looking for more businesses to join.
Real-World Experience
As a community development organization, SMOC runs a variety of programs, from job training to housing assistance to energy-efficiency upgrade work.
Last year the organization landed one of two $1-million grants from the federal departments of Energy and Labor to create the Green Jobs Academy. The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth is hosting the other program.
SMOC recruits participants, who are under-employed or unemployed, and enrolls them in the six-week training session. Each session, about 40 to 50 people apply for the program and a dozen are selected, said Gwenn Weiser, one of three new full-time employees SMOC hired to run the Green Jobs Academy.
Students are instructed by Paul Jackson, who worked for 25 years as part of a cooperative effort among the investor-owned utility companies in the state to encourage energy efficiency.
Participants go through a four-day boot camp and then learn how to practice air sealing techniques, insulation blowing and home efficiency testing.
In its four sessions, the program has already graduated 46 students, 20 of which have been placed in job-training programs with area contractors. Last month the academy held a grand opening for its Weatherization Training Center on Blandin Avenue in Framingham.
Twenty-one energy efficiency contractors have signed on to each accept a graduate as part of a 60-day on-the-job training period. Participating businesses receive an $8-per-hour subsidy to hire the workers for the two months. SMOC officials hope those trial runs turn into full-time jobs.
Rob Abady, owner of Insulation Retrofit Systems in Worcester, has already hired two of the program's graduates. He can't guarantee that the 60-day placement will lead to a full-time job for the workers, but he said it's a "foot in the door."
"The industry is exploding, so we're going to need more workers," he said.
The program gives the workers a good base-level understanding of energy efficiency work, Abady said, but then workers will need another about eight to 12 months of training if they are hired.
Charles Gagnon, COO of SMOC, said the academy isn't done growing.
In the coming months the center hopes to launch energy audit classes, which would teach students how to identify which upgrades are needed in a home. Later the program hopes to offer tips on how to start an energy efficiency contracting business.
In the meantime, the program is accepting student applications and recruiting more businesses to provide on-the-job training. For more information about the program, contact director Gwenn Weiser at 508-620-2679 or email gweiser@smoc.org.
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