KCKCC’s Construction Green Up program in the first year was called a success this week.
KCKCC’s Construction Green Up program is a six to ten week intensive training designed to prepare unemployed and underemployed Kansas City metro area adults for a variety of careers related to Deconstruction & Building Materials reuse.
Constructed Green Up was a program created by KCKCC’s Technical Education Center and Workforce Development teams in a response to Mid-American Regional Council’s announcement of EnergWorks KC workforce development grant.
Between January 2012 and June 2013, Construction Green Up trained 29 individuals, 27 of whom earned at least one industry credential, and 22 of who earned substantially all of the credentials that comprised the training.
These trainees were recruited and supported through a network of community partners throughout the training, and connected to KCKCC’s network of industry contacts to help place successful trainees in employment.
The program performed very well in the areas of training and placement and made substantial contributions to the metropolitan green job training infrastructure by building local capacity to deliver training Deconstruction & Building Materials Reuse training. Additionally, the program activities contributed to local market development for Deconstruction and Building Materials Reuse.
The program not only exceeded its target number of workers trained by over 30 percent, but perhaps more important, Construction Green Up was able to add six additional environmental industry credentials at no additional cost.
A key partner was OAI, a national workforce training organization whose Environmental Remediation program is administered locally through Metropolitan Energy Center.
This partnership added immensely to the depth and flexibility of the training both organizations were able to offer, and also laid a foundation for further collaboration in the future.
To continue the work that has begun with Construction Green Up, and to advance the emerging market of deconstruction and other green collar jobs that has been occurring for many years in KC, KCKCC has been instrumental in helping a new and independent organization develop called Green Up, Inc., a nonprofit organization committed to advancing economic opportunities for disadvantaged workers through green workforce development and entrepreneurship initiatives.
Green Up Inc. and KCKCC will work very closely together to continue to offer Green Workforce Development initiatives to the community.
