With recent concern for the environment, green building practices are becoming increasingly prominent. Expertise in green construction, which aims to reduce the environmental impact of buildings, is in high demand, and jobs are on the rise. Here are three construction jobs that will be necessary in promoting green practices.

Heat and Air-Conditioning installers: Environmental awareness has prompted the use of energy saving heat and air-conditioning units. Older units will be replaced with more efficient technology, and there will be higher demand for the maintenance of these increasingly complex systems. Boost your career with classes from a technical school, and increase your knowledge of energy-efficient heat and air-conditioning units.

Concrete pouring: Concrete is one of the most common and durable materials used in construction. With new green practices, packed gravel and permeable concrete are replacing the use of conventional concrete. Such methods encourage proficiency in water drainage. Concrete pouring skills can be in demand as methods become more specialized!

Window installers: High-efficiency windows help green buildings reduce energy usage. Recent window technology helps to maintain buildings’ internal temperatures. In addition, proper window placement on a building allows more natural light, decreasing the need for electrical lighting during the day. Learning about new window installation and placement techniques may boost your career.

Visit Careerexplorer.net to find a technical school that can help you start your career in green building practices today!

With the push for more green technology jobs, the Department of Labor has distributed $7.5 million in green employment and training back in July 2009. There is a one requirement for this funding: this money is designated to help Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans obtain green jobs.

Organizations across the country are reaping the benefits of this new funding while helping veterans. One in particular, Swords to Plowshares located in San Francisco, has received $300,000 to help train and find veterans green jobs in the Bay area.

The employment agency is one of 17 nationwide to receive this funding and so far it’s helped several veterans transition to civilian life after their tours of duty. Some of the careers that this funding is going to are:

• Solar panel installation
• Weatherization
• Green certification in HVAC

Learn more about green training today with CareerExplorer.com!

Thinking of training for a Green Collar or renewable energy job? Look to the heartland.

The state government set some pretty lofty green energy goals for Kansas businesses. Former Governor Kathleen Sebelius and current Governor Mark Parkinson set a goal of producing 10% of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2010. The business community recently met this ambitious goal much earlier than expected, and is showing signs of making even further progress.

Quick facts about Kansas Green Energy:
•    Kansas’ wind generating capacity recently surpassed 1,000 megawatts
•    Kansas’ wind generating capacity has more than tripled since the beginning of 2008
•    Hutchinson, Kansas is the site of a huge turbine factory expected to create and install 650 wind turbines by 2010
•    The state’s rapid increase in wind power infrastructure has positioned Kansas as 3rd out of all states for wind energy production

The Hutchinson factory operation is expected to create an estimated 400 Green Collar jobs, along with all of the community support services, construction and amenities jobs attached to any large-scale production facility. Even better, the new facility has an adjacent 80,000 square-foot service and repair facility. The Green Collar industry is exploding in Kansas, and it only took a few years to get it off the ground.

Types of jobs that are created to service the Green Energy industry:
•    Construction
•    Electrical infrastructure
•    HVAC
•    Trucking and Transportation
•    Real Estate
•    Medical and health care
•    Emergency Medical Response teams (EMT)
•    Business and project management

Green Energy is an excellent and profitable industry that creates new jobs for emerging technology, but also boosts traditional industries looking to expand into new markets.

If you were to move to the Hutchinson, Kansas area, what Green Energy jobs would you qualify or be able to train for? It may be easier than you think to join the renewable energy movement!

The economy’s been in rough shape over the last few months – even the last few years. Last February, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was passed, and it’s time to look at the overall impact.

Overall, things are still pretty grim – while the rate of job loss has slowed, unemployment is still on the rise, at 9.7% in August. Some industries, however, are doing better than others – namely manufacturing, construction and retail trade. The energy sector is also on the rise – particularly with the emphasis on ‘going green’.

While things are still grim, some recruiters tend to be slightly optimistic about the future, expecting job openings to start picking up again at the beginning of 2010.

Some unemployed are using the time to try to update or freshen skills through career training. Others are attempting to take advantage of as much temporary work as possible. And almost everybody is applying everywhere they can – making this a very rough and competitive job market.

Do you feel like things are really getting better??

Since the world is turning greener, how can you establish yourself in this new career field? Green-collar jobs have been cropping up in the past few years – we first heard about them in the presidential primaries from candidates on both sides of the political fence. Now with the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act, President Obama has promised to spend $150 billion over 10 years to create 5 million new green-collar jobs.

How can you take advantage of the added funds to this new career field? Can you just transition your skills over – or will there be additional training? These are the questions many people are asking themselves, especially when jobs are already scarce.

But, there’s good news! Since the government is willing to fund these new green jobs, that means there are possibilities for your current career or a new one. Take your current skills and apply them to:

• Hybrid auto repair, maintenance and assembly
• Clean coal production
• Green construction
• Green public transit operators
• And more!

There are new careers hitting the green-collar job field that might take additional training and skills. Explore some new areas of green jobs, like:

• Wind energy
• Solar panel production, repair and maintenance
• Green Information Technology
• And more!

Learn more about green careers and training today!