Marlborough Green Jobs Program Offers Free Training To Locals

MARLBOROUGH, MA — A Marlborough-based program that trains local residents to work in the green economy is offering a free course in March for adult learners. The week-long course will focus on weatherization, which helps to improve heating and cooling efficiency to save energy.

Here's more from a Green Jobs Academy news release:

Green Jobs Academy (GJA), the Marlborough-based weatherization workforce training program of the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC), has received a $50,000 grant from the Foundation for MetroWest that allows the program to offer a limited number of tuition-free weatherization courses to qualified MetroWest students.

While home weatherization is one way for homeowners to fight climate change and help Massachusetts meet its climate goals, building and supporting a skilled and diverse workforce is essential to meeting the needs and goals of the region. GJA is New England’s only regional Home Weatherization and Energy Efficiency training facility that provides complete career development training and certification courses.

The Foundation for MetroWest grant will support placement of seven students in a two-week Home Weatherization Boot Camp. This course will provide students with the necessary knowledge, skills, and certifications to enter the workforce as an installer. The grant also supports three students in a more comprehensive six-week training that will cover concepts for installers and energy auditors.

Registration is now open for the two-week boot camp being held March 6 to 17. To apply for one of the tuition-free opportunities, email Evan Pagliuca, Program Manager at epagliuca@smoc.org.
This grant is provided through the Foundation’s Workforce Development Action Project, an initiative focusing on income inequality that persists in the MetroWest.

“We are proud to partner with GIA as it helps us further the mission of our Workforce Development initiative and fosters the creation of sustainable clean energy jobs. We value our long-term relationship with SMOC, they’re an essential member of our community,” said Jay Kim, Executive Director of the Foundation for MetroWest.

Since 2010, GJA has provided weatherization job training with a dual mission and business model: to provide entry-level skills training that prepares individuals for in-demand, living wage jobs with a career ladder in the weatherization industry, in addition to flexible, customized, continuing education training for weatherization and energy efficiency professionals to continue to advance in the industry. Through the use of hands-on instructional learning, GJA provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to enter and advance in the home weatherization field.

The Foundation for MetroWest serves over 30 MetroWest communities by providing financial and educational resources to local nonprofit organizations, sharing essential data about the region to inform decision-making, and partnering with donors to help guide and align their giving with the areas of greatest need in the community.

For more information about SMOC’s Green Jobs Academy, visit: www.greenjobsacademy.org or call 508-626-7150.