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A new round of federal funding will help train workers for Colorado jobs in weatherization.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded a $1 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant to the Colorado Governor’s Energy Office to expand and improve weatherization job training throughout the state.

“Weatherization helps families save money and reduce their energy consumption,” Gov. Bill Ritter said. “This grant will help build our workforce to meet the increased demands for energy efficient services. The growth of the weatherization program shows that Colorado’s New Energy Economy is growing strong and helping our economy recover quicker and stronger.”

The Governor’s Energy Office plans to work with Saturn Resources Management Inc. to establish certificate programs with Red Rocks Community College and Pueblo Community College, which will offer online, classroom and field training to 460 workers in various weatherization sectors.

“A well-trained workforce will be a crucial part of America’s clean energy economy in the years ahead,” Daniel Poneman deputy secretary of energy, said. “These investments in efficiency training programs will help build a foundation for long-term growth in America. Energy efficiency improves the competitiveness of our economy, benefits the environment, and puts Americans back to work.”

Prior to this round of funding, the Governor’s Energy Office has used ARRA grants to help low-income families weatherize their homes, which in turn lowers energy bills, creates jobs, conserves energy and reduces pollution.

The DOE doled out $29 million to 34 agencies in 27 states for weatherization projects. It is expected that Colorado will receive at least $7.1 billion in ARRA funding during the next year.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 at 2:31 pm and is filed under Colorado, job search. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.