Aren’t graduations exciting? I think so which is why I am particularly excited this week. Tomorrow (Thursday April 12) is the graduation for our first GETS cohort trained entirely in Berkeley. This graduation marks a significant milestone for adult programming here at Rising Sun Energy Center.
When I started here at Rising Sun four years ago, there was no adult training program. Now, we are offering world-class Building Science training to people who are becoming a construction labor force for the 21st century. While some of our grads will go on to pursue jobs in residential energy efficiency, most will not. “Why?” you ask? Simple: the jobs aren’t there. Yet. Every day, I see small signs of progress as the Whole Home Building Performance industry moves from being a “cottage industry” to a “main stream industry.” And to paraphrase a recent article inThe Economist: “You know that ground you are gaining inch by inch? That’s called winning.”
We’re getting there. And the trained and skilled labor force is getting ready.
Like I said, graduations are exciting. See you at 2033 Center Street, 1:30pm-3:00pm, Thursday, April 12, 2012.
George Kopf
GETS Training and Employment Manager
