California has aggressive energy consumption reduction goals and efforts to incentivize homeowners to make their homes more efficient.
The state’s goal for energy efficiency and home performance job development is ambitious. By 2020, California’s workforce needs to be trained and fully engaged to provide the human capital that will be needed to achieve California’s economic energy efficiency potential.
This means that building professionals must be trained in relevant, energy efficiency technologies, such as HVAC, insulation and air sealing measure to maintain and advance California’s sustainability efforts.
SDCE is building the only state-of-the-art facility in the region with a hands-on environment that includes lab, lecture, and a training trailer, which makes SDCE the sought-after partner for implementing necessary energy efficient training to meet CPUC (California Public Utilities Commission) 2020 requirements.
The classes and equipment will be modeled around state mandates and the energy industry’s efficiency trends. Students will learn from lecture and hands-on practice in CE’s STAR (Sustainable Training and Resource) Center, which includes a SMART classroom, weatherization lab, and a real-world Home Performance Training Trailer that project teams and job seekers will use to practice learned concepts.
A major collaborative effort is launching with CCSE (California Center for Sustainable Energy), KEMA and others to expand the training and job opportunities in the energy-efficient careers using CE’s state-of-the-art facilities. These organizations train contractors who in turn, expand their businesses by hiring trained workers.