When President Barak Obama visited Savannah Technical College in March to unveil his $6 billion Homestar program to fund energy retrofits of American homes, Atlanta Technical College president Alvetta Peterman Thomas sat in the front row.  Thomas’s presence was significant as she is a proponent of eco-sustainability in education.

Like the president, Thomas believes that expanding skilled trade education to include components on building energy efficient homes and structures will create jobs, strengthen the economy and position the U.S. as a leader in green-collar jobs innovation.  Colleges such as Atlanta Technical College have upgraded their industrial curricula to prepare students to fill jobs in weatherization, green construction and solar energy retrofitting.

 ”It was an honor to join my colleagues at the president’s speech in Savannah,” said Thomas.  “Our mission at Atlanta Technical College is to prepare students to meet the demands of business, industry and indeed, the community.  As such, we have been working towards empowering Georgians to earn living wages in socially-responsible, eco-friendly industries.  To hear president Obama underscore the need for green-jobs training was truly encouraging.”

If approved by Congress, the president’s Homestar initiative will revitalize the slumping construction industry and save homeowners money, as their properties become more energy efficient. Under president Obama’s plan, homeowners could get up to $3,000 in rebates from contractors and retail stores when they retrofit their homes to become more energy efficient. According to the White House, two to three million homeowners may take advantage of the program. 

On a local level, this program will immediately benefit contractors like the ones graduating from Atlanta Technical College’s plumbing, HVAC and construction supervisory management programs.  Through the silver star component of the president’s plan, these workers will be hired to perform simple but much needed upgrades to local homes, installing energy efficient water heaters, heating and air systems, duct sealing and new insulation.  Contractors can also sit for gold level accreditation from the Building Performance Institute, which will qualify them to perform whole-house energy audits and improvements.  Certified contracting crews could see an additional 250 retrofitting projects per year.

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