CTE students explore weatherization careers

The Clean Energy Center’s weatherization career readiness program, called Next Door, has hosted a series of recent field trips for career and technical education center students to the center’s labs in Williamsport and Harrisburg. 

“During these field trips, we’ve educated students about in-demand careers in the weatherization industry, giving them tours of our labs where they’ve participated in hands-on activities like fire caulking, installing dense pack insulation and blower door tests,” explained Lindsey A. Harner, program coordinator, Clean Energy Center. “Employers within the industry have also attended to tell students more about working for their respective companies.”

Part of Pennsylvania College of Technology's Workforce Development department, the Clean Energy Center has welcomed more than 90 students from the following schools: Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science & Technology; Huntingdon County Career & Technology Center; Keystone Central Career & Technical Center; Lehigh Career & Technical Institute; Reading Muhlenberg Career & Technology Center; and Technical College High School – Pickering Campus. The schools represent six counties: Berks, Centre, Chester, Clinton, Huntingdon and Lehigh.

“These field trips are just one part of the Next Door program, which is designed to create a pipeline for Pennsylvania CTE students into careers within the weatherization industry,” said Mike McMonigal, workforce development program manager, Clean Energy Center. “Prior to the field trips, we also worked directly with the students’ instructors to prepare them to deliver Building Science Principles curriculum to their students.”

Building Science Principles is a certificate program designed to introduce individuals to energy efficient home performance. The ultimate goal of the program is to help CTE students earn their Building Science Principles certificate and connect the students with weatherization agencies and contractors for job shadowing and co-op opportunities that could lead to full-time employment for the students, following graduation.

In addition to opening doors to well-paying job opportunities and supporting Pennsylvania’s weatherization industry by supplying in-demand workers, the Clean Energy Center’s weatherization career readiness program helps achieve the state’s residential weatherization goals. The Next Door workforce readiness program is supported by the state Department of Community & Economic Development’s Weatherization Assistance Program training and technical assistance funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Including its Williamsport and Harrisburg facilities, the Clean Energy Center operates instructional space in Latrobe and a soon-to-open site in Pittsburgh and is one the nation’s leading providers of clean energy workforce training and technical assistance. Visit the Clean Energy Center website to learn more about the center’s mission to improve the comfort and safety of buildings and reduce energy consumption in communities.