BPI and NCAF Launch Green Jobs Connection
Connecting Weatherization Workers to Jobs in Home Performance Contracting 
Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI) and the National Community Action Foundation (NCAF) announced the launch of Green Jobs Connection, an initiative that will connect BPI certified workers now employed in the federal Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) to jobs within BPI’s network of private home performance contractors.
“The Weatherization program has a vast talent pool of BPI certified energy auditors, home energy retrofit installers, crew chiefs and others. BPI’s network of private accredited contracting companies and other industry partners is growing fast. These firms depend on highly skilled professionals to make sure energy efficiency improvements are done right – the first time. Creating an online space where these two groups can easily find one another is a natural step for us,” said Larry Zarker, BPI CEO.
All BPI certified professionals are invited to post their resumes on BPI’s Green Jobs Connection website (www.bpi.org/greencollar.aspx). They can browse jobs by category, where any contractor or organization seeking to hire BPI certified professionals is invited to post their job vacancy.
BPI will actively promote the site to the broader home performance industry to maximize the networking possibilities for weatherization workers and contracting companies. NCAF will inform and connect its network of local community delivery agencies and their workers and contractors to the Green Jobs Connection’s interface, and will reach out to state and federal partners to disseminate the information.
David Bradley, Executive Director of NCAF, which represents nearly 900 local community agencies that deliver Weatherization program services said, “The National Community Action Foundation is delighted to be the outreach partner for BPI’s Green Jobs Connection. Our member local agencies are proud they have met the challenge of rapid growth, and are on track to surpass the national goal of weatherizing 600,000 low-income families’ homes. However, we are very concerned about the future of these remarkable men and women as the Recovery Act’s spending for the WAP program comes to a close. Many highly skilled WAP technicians face unemployment; BPI’s Green Jobs Connection is the necessary breakthrough to a national transparent marketplace. It is an enormous service to our local organizations and their workers, as well as to the nascent ‘green-collar’ retrofit industry.”