December 19, 2011
Nation's Building News

The Official Online Newspaper of NAHB

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Workforce Development
HBI Students Learning Weatherization Skills to Help Companies Compete in Retrofit Market
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At the Old Dominion Job Corps Center in Monroe, Va., two HBI Job Corps students learn weatherization skills, such a glazing windows, to make the building more energy-efficient.

With about half of the 130 million homes in the U.S. built before 1973 and many of them in need of energy-efficiency upgrades, according to the Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, employees with weatherization skills will be a big help to companies seeking to tap into the retrofitting market.  

“Weatherization is one of the fastest growing sectors of the residential construction industry,” said Home Builders Institute (HBI) Job Corps electrical instructor Elliott “Butch” Nadeau from the Grafton Job Corps Center in Massachusetts.

“Companies are now looking for workers with established weatherization skills because they know they can save money on future employee weatherization training,” Nadeau added. “A fundamental understanding of a building’s overall systems and the energy implications is beneficial to the construction firm as well as employees.”

Nadeau helps train students in weatherization at Grafton. Depending on a their knowledge of the initial core trade skills, students can become proficient in the skills within three of four months.

During the training, students learn about:

  • Building envelopes and their importance in energy efficiency
  • Home ventilation, insulation and vapor barriers
  • How to detect air leakage
  • How to seal air leaks to improve energy efficiency

As part of the curriculum, students practice:

  • Installing venting
  • Upgrading insulation
  • Adding vapor barriers
  • Sealing around lights, fixtures, outlets and switches.

“Students entering the construction field with an understanding of green technology and energy efficiency will be a step ahead when entering the job market,” said Nadeau. “This is an area that is growing and getting a job in this field can lead to a long and prosperous career.”

Students are guided, in part, by the textbook, “Methods of Residential Energy Conservation: Energy Efficiency for Existing Homes,” which covers energy building science, energy analysis and the weatherization process. HBI published the textbook in collaboration with Michigan’s Ferris State University,

“This textbook is a critical resource for students to gain a better understanding of energy efficiency and weatherization,” said Steve Kramer, vice president for the HBI Residential Construction Academy. “Residential construction students can use it as a guide to deepen their understanding of a home’s energy efficiency capacities.”

For more information on HBI’s weatherization curriculum, email Keith Albright or call him at 800-795-7955 x8911; or visit the HBI website at www.hbi.org.

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