Vermont Adult Learning (VAL) is recruiting participants, ages 18 and older, for its next three-week weatherization training session starting Monday, October 18th in Rutland. Contact Jeff Nerney at [email protected] or call (802)779-0057 for more information or to sign up.
VAL launched Energy Works, a Workforce Training program benefiting low-income Vermonters while aligning with objectives of Vermont’s Comprehensive Energy Plan. The program trains unemployed and underemployed Vermonters, facilitates energy efficiency cost savings for low-income households, and provides local sustainable energy businesses with experienced trainees. Training includes classroom instruction, hands-on skill development, job shadows, and placement assistance. Partners include BROC, OEO Weatherization, Efficiency Vermont, Creative Workforce Solutions, Voc Rehab, Reach Up and the Vermont Department of Labor.
“You could see and feel the successes of your work,” observed a trainee from September’s 2021 inaugural class. “Before we blew insulation in a room it was cold in the morning. When we came back the next morning to that room, it was warm. That’s when it hit me that the work we’re doing helps people out.”