NICC, Upper Exploreland and other agencies receive $2 million green jobs training grant

Northeast Iowa Community College will share in a $2 million U.S. Department of Labor grant to develop and provide programs to train people who want to become workers in renewable energy industries and other green occupations.

The $2,060,000 grant to East Central Intergovernmental Association Business Growth Inc. and its partners will pay for academic program development and continuing education workforce training through NICC. The labor department grant will provide current and new NICC faculty members with the resources they need to train students to enter growing fields in the green sector.

$933,000 in federal funds will go towards NICC's Wind Turbine Repair Technician program. The program, scheduled to open in the fall of 2010, will train students to repair wind energy infrastructure. The grant will pay for learning system and curriculum delivery, faculty development and hiring, and direct scholarships to students enrolled in the Wind Turbine Repair Technician diploma or associate in applied science degree program.

40 percent of Iowa land can produce wind speeds necessary to generate power. The need for wind turbine repair technicians will grow as the industry expands, according to National Wind, a wind energy advocacy and informational organization.

Additional funding from the grant will support training for Green Building Professional Certification in residential and commercial construction. NICC's Continuing Education department will roll out training programs this year that teach students how to earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System certification. Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council in 1998, LEED provides numerous standards for building projects that meet environmentally sustainable construction criteria. The funding directly supports curriculum delivery and training equipment purchases, and tuition costs for 120 students through 2012. The Continuing Education Department will offer Green Building Professional certification programs at the college's Calmar campus and the NICC Town Clock Center for Professional Development in Dubuque. Each NICC location will offer the training in both residential and commercial construction.

In addition to the Green Building Professional certification in residential and commercial construction, the grant will also fund Residential Energy Services Network programs to train home energy raters and develop courses in green electrical skills. The electrical skills funding will cover program costs for 60 students and will provide "green" skills to current electricians in the field. In addition, the college will receive $415,000 to train 120 students in the next two years for the RESNET HERS Training program. Funding will cover textbooks, laptops, rating tools, supplies and costs to hire faculty to provide the training. This program teaches participants how to rate structures in specific areas for their energy saving features.

NICC will work with a number of other agencies on the programs, including the Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission in Postville.