About Building Green Jobs for Alabama

USGBC Alabama will prepare approximately 550 eligible job seekers for re-employment through a FREE 5-step training program. The five steps include industry-recognized certificate trainings (LEED® Green Associates and Green Advantage®) as well as job coaching from professionals in the green building trades. The program is designed so that a participant can readily finish all of their training and begin job searching in six months or less.

The 5-Step Training Program

Step 1. Program Orientation and Industry Overview. All trainees will be given a program orientation and a review of the green building market and trades, with a focus on the regional market and Alabama. This will include an overview of all the professional and trade credentials currently available, including the three certificate trainings we will be offering.

Step 2. Green Building Workshop. To all program participants, we will deliver an integrative one day workshop on green building that covers: land, energy, water, materials, and indoor air quality. Likely specialized topics are: site prep and stormwater management, HVAC and energy audit, waste reduction and re-use, 'green' plumbing, etc.

Step 3. Industry-Recognized Certificate Trainings. The participants will choose the green building certificate training that best fits their background and goals. These include the LEED® Green Associate exam prep and Green Advantage® study and exam. We understand the financial situation of our trainees. The prep work is not useful if it does not lead to the actual exams. For this reason, an exam fee stipend is available to qualified trainees.

Step 4. On-site Training. We will add to the participants' marketability through on-site training that will complement their field of study and certificate choice. The site visits will include both new construction and retrofit of commercial and residential led by volunteer members of USGBC Alabama. LEED buildings (whether certified or registered) will be prominent in the site list.

Step 5. Job search assistance. Trainees will have access to job search assistance through the Career Centers as well as supplemental programs that USGBC will offer, including repeated Small Group Mentoring with USGBC Alabama volunteers and an annual Coaching Day in each of our four branch areas (North, Central, Birmingham Area, and Gulf Coast). Participants will be trained in job search skills and will interact with panels of experts on a variety of current green building topics pertinent to Alabama and neighboring job markets.

About LEED® GA and Green Advantage® Credentials

The LEED® Green Associates credential is intended for professionals who want to demonstrate green building expertise in non-technical fields of practice. The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI) has created the LEED® Green Associates credential, which denotes basic knowledge of green design, construction and operations. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

Green Advantage® (GA), the country's longest-standing green certification for builders and building-related practitioners, offers three certification exams: Commercial, Residential and Commercial/Residential. Green Advantage® Certified Practitioners (GACPs) have passed one or more exams, demonstrating their knowledge of the latest in green building principles, materials and techniques. Green Advantage® Certification helps builders get jobs, contractors win bids, and allows building occupants to enjoy healthier, more efficient homes and buildings.

About USGBC Alabama

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Alabama Chapter is a 501(c)(3), non-profit, volunteer organization formed in 2004. We have four Branches: North, Birmingham, Central, and Gulf Coast. We are one of 78 chapters that make up the national USGBC organization. We are committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings.

USGBC is the driving force of an industry that is projected to contribute $554 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product from 2009-2013. USGBC leads an unlikely diverse constituency of builders and environmentalists, corporations and nonprofit organizations, elected officials and concerned citizens, and teachers and students.

Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.*

* statistics from www.usgbc.org