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Wake Tech prepares for surge in "green" jobs; new programs ready college for Obama's HOMESTAR plan
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Wake Tech says jobs like these -- advising homwowers
how to make homes energy efficient -- are a future trend.
Photo from Creative Commons.org
RALEIGH – Wake Tech is betting that “green” jobs are the wave of the future, and they have a powerful ally – Pres. Barack Obama.
The community college on Monday announced that it was adding academic programs designed to prepare students for jobs helping people make their homes more energy efficient.
“Career opportunities in green technologies are growing,” said Wake Tech President Stephen Scott, in a statement announcing the programs, “and we’re working hard to provide the training people need to shift into these new and expanding industries.”
The announcement came less than a week after Pres. Obama outlined a plan to encourage Americans to make their homes more energy efficient. Speaking at Savannah Technical College in Georgia on March 2, the president made it clear that creating jobs was one of the primary motivations for his plan, known as HOMESTAR.
“We have the potential to create millions of jobs in this sector,” the president said. Among the work Obama said his program would create were “jobs designing and manufacturing and selling and installing more efficient building materials.”
More efficient homes and buildings is exactly the focus of the new Wake Tech programs. The eight-week programs, which begin March 29, will lead to certifications in two areas:
* “Smart” home technology: Students will learn to install such devices as energy-efficient lighting, temperature and water systems, and they will learn to perform service and maintenance on such equipment;
* Safety energy and savings analysis: Students will learn how to evaluate energy usage through a complete home audit, and to make recommendations to homeowners about how to achieve greater energy efficiency.
Obama first proposed the HOMESTAR program in his State of the Union speech in January.
“The nation that leads the green energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy,” the president said then. “That is the challenge for our nation.”
Obama outlined details of his plan in his March 2 speech at Savannah Technical College. According to a fact sheet posted on the White House web site that same day, homeowners would get rebates of up to $3,000 for a variety of energy-saving investments in their homes.
The program would require that the equipment be installed by certified contractors, and that independent quality assurance providers conduct field audits after work is completed to ensure proper installation.
According to the fact sheet, Obama is “continuing to work with Members of Congress, business, environmental and labor leaders to enact a HOMESTAR program into law.”
If and when the law is enacted, Wake Tech grads will be ready.
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