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EAST END GREEN JOB TRAINING MEETS GROWING NEED
Jobs for Progress Partners With Local Businesses For 'Booming' Construction Sector

June 22, 2011 -- The Greater East End may be Houston’s oldest neighborhood, but a program to train green construction workers there is putting it at the forefront of building trends and helping spur employment options for East End residents.

The training takes place at SER - Jobs for Progress of the Texas Gulf Coast, the local affiliate of a national organization founded in the 1960s to provide employment resources. SER means “to be” in Spanish and stands for Service Employment Redevelopment.

Against a national backdrop of expanding “greener” construction techniques designed to increase the energy efficiency of homes and businesses – ultimately leading to cost savings as well – the program trains workers so that they have the experience and skills needed to meet the increasing demand. The training includes green painting techniques, weatherization and solar screen installation, and other related skills, and takes place at SER’s headquarters next to the Port of Houston.

Rey Guerra, director of Energy Programs at the construction firm PMG, has hired numerous graduates from the program. Last year, 90 percent of his new hires came from SER, he says. The need for skilled workers is on the rise, and SER is helping to meet that demand, he says.

“Houston is very much in the forefront on this green movement. There are only a couple of companies who do it, but it is absolutely booming,” Guerra says.

The green building techniques are being used across all income sectors in Houston. Some of the workers trained at SER have worked for large companies retrofitting existing buildings, but others have been hired through the city of Houston’s Residential Energy Efficiency (REEP) program, which provides free weatherization to low-income residents.

The SER training, funded by a Department of Labor grant, has the added benefit of changing students’ lives for the better, in addition to making a positive environmental impact, says SER Director Nory Angel.

“You are training someone with skills that are going to put them on a career path as opposed to staying in a dead end job,” she says.

Greater East End Management District president Diane Schenke said the SER training is vital to the area’s growth and development. “It’s a way to get the workforce ready for future development and to help local businesses jumpstart a new phase of revitalization that benefits everyone,” she says.

“As the East End continues to evolve, The District’s commitment to environmental stewardship and the future of this neighborhood is evident by programs such as the green jobs training.”