Prepare for Green Jobs at Prince George’s Community College
The well-known environmental activist Van Jones defines a green job as “a family-supporting, career-track job that directly contributes to preserving or enhancing environmental quality.” By the year 2020, the world’s green economy will be worth approximately $3 trillion, according to the United Nations Environmental Program. Everywhere you look, companies are trying to go green, and products are trying to be greener. There are green jobs forming in almost every sector of the economy, and, in fact, President Barack Obama argues that new “green collar” careers will be the key to boosting the country’s economic recovery.
Community colleges are on the front line of training for exciting, futuristic green jobs, and Prince George’s Community college is no exception. We have been offering hands-on traditional courses and online courses to prepare students for green jobs since fall of 2009, and the number of green training classes continues to expand.
Traditional classroom/lab courses in energy conservation include:
- Home Energy Auditors—Learn to use specialized equipment to determine if a home is losing heat or air conditioning due to structural defects.
- Weatherization Workers—Explore how to repair windows, doors, and other defective elements discovered by the Energy Audit.
For more information, please contact Ricky Godbolt at 301-322-0034 or rgodbolt@pgcc.edu
Traditional classroom/lab courses in urban agriculture include:
- Urban Agriculture: The New Frontier in the Green Economy—Get an introduction to what urban agriculture is and what the career possibilities entail.
- Urban Commercial Agriculture—Learn how to start and run an urban farm
- Composting for Urban Agriculture and Sustainable Landscaping—Explore the ins and outs of small- and large-scale composting and vermiculture (using worms in the composting process).
- High Tunnel Construction and Use—Learn how to build the greenhouses that work best for urban farming.
- Aquaponics—The art and science of farming fish in your own backyard.
For more information, please contact Helen McClure at 301-322-0870 or hmcclure@pgcc.edu
Traditional classroom/lab courses in sustainable landscaping include:
- Tree Care for Landscaping—Enhance your landscaping skills with some basic tree-care skills.
- Arborist Training—Get the skills you need for a new career as a tree-care specialist.
- Rain Garden Design and Installation—Rain gardens were invented and perfected in Maryland, and they’re the natural way to reduce erosion and flooding from stormwater.
- Bayscaping and Use of Native Plants in Landscaping—Learn which plants are ideal for this area, and why and how to use them in landscaping.
- Green Roofs and Green Walls Installation and Maintenance—Explore the newest trend in landscaping—landscaping roofs and walls to cut energy use, help mitigate stormwater runoff, and green an urban landscape.
For more information, please contact Helen McClure at 301-322-0870 or hmcclure@pgcc.edu
Traditional classroom/lab courses in greening your workplace include:
- Green Building and Grounds Management for Houses of Worship—Protect nature’s bounty and save the congregation money through greening your house of worship.
- Greening Your Restaurant—Learn to overcome the unique challenges of making your restaurant or take-out establishment more environmentally friendly.
- Greening Your Retail Store—Save money and attract environmentally-savvy customers through greening your store.
- Growing Your Small Business in the Green Economy—Learn how steps to green your small business can give you an advantage in today’s economy.
For more information, please contact Helen McClure at 301-322-0870 or hmcclure@pgcc.edu
Other traditional classroom/lab courses include:
- Green Jobs in the New Economy—Otherwise known as Getting a Green Job.
- The REWIND Program: Go Green—Learn about the smart grid and smart meters, technology that will be coming to a home near you.
For more information, please contact Helen McClure at 301-322-0870 or hmcclure@pgcc.edu
Online courses through Ed2Go include:
- Going Green at Home
- Going Green at the Workplace
For more information, please contact Helen McClure at 301-322-0870 or hmcclure@pgcc.edu
Online courses through ProTrain include courses in the following categories:
- Entry-Level Green Training
- LEED Certification
- Indoor Air Quality
- Energy Auditing/Weatherization
- Renewable Energy Training
- Sustainability—Green Supply Chain Training
- Environmental Training
- Water Management
- Solid Waste Management
For a complete list of courses and descriptions, please go to www.theknowledgebase.org/pgcc and click on Programs & Courses.
Photo by Oregon DOT, Flickr Creative Commons