new green professional (gpro) job training program launched in colorado

Green Job Training for Traditional Electricians

 Denver, CO, February 2, 2011 – Over 180 traditional electrical students were some of the first in the country to receive a new green building training called GPRO. GPRO was developed over the last 3 years at an expense of over $750,000 by the Urban Green Council chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), the leading organization committed to a prosperous and sustainable future through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. GPRO is a visionary job skill training that target those working in the building trades and will elevate the green building skills of the Colorado workers, keeping our workforce competitive in the emerging green marketplace.

 Through a unique partnership between Independent Electrical Contractors-Rocky Mountain (IECRM) and USGBC Colorado Chapter, GPRO was launched through a SESP state grant in January 2011 to all 3rd and 4th year Electrical Apprenticeship students at IECRM. The students that received the training were ecstatic at the opportunity and hungry for more. “The GPRO Fundamentals of Green Building class was great! The course was very informative and really relevant on all of the jobs we work on these days,” said student, Luke Fletemeyer.

“The LEED® green building certification program is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of green buildings. LEED®, however, has largely focused on developers, architects, and engineers—not those that actually construct the buildings. GPRO is designed to educate trades people in the who, what, and why of green building. GPRO empowers the workforce with the skills necessary to compete in today’s changing construction industry,” said Spenser Villwock, IECRM Executive Director. 

GPRO will be available to the public at the upcoming USGBC Colorado annual conference, Rocky Mountain Green, on April 19, 2011 in Denver, as well as through the IECRM Energy Academy later this spring. IECRM is a 170-member strong non-profit association and Colorado’s largest electrical apprentice training school, educating hundreds of electrical and renewable energy professionals each year.

For more information, visit www.IECRM.org. U.S. Green Building Council Colorado Chapter (USGBC Colorado) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to advancing and promoting sustainable planning, design, construction and operation of the built environment through education, improving industry guidelines, policy, advocacy, and information and resource sharing. To learn more, visit www.usgbccolorado.org.