Mobile unit purchased to train green job workers | News

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (DWS) -- Apprenticeship training for jobs in "green" industries just got a lot easier with the purchase of a new Mobile Training Unit.

Improving energy efficiency is a top priority for many businesses and that starts with technology.

"It's going to be more relevant in the future, it's going to have to be. Everybody's wanting to save, conserve energy, and use renewable sources," says Jim Ryan, president for the Arkansas Apprenticeship Coalition.

Ryan says their mobile training unit is truly unique.

"We're trying to teach them green and renewable energy. And that's what all these trainers are. We're trying to teach the things of the future that we know our apprentices are going to have to work with," adds Ryan.

Ryan says the mobile unit is a great way to teach participants in apprenticeship programs more about energy efficiency.

"Nobody has access to these trainers that you can teach them on it. And these trainers can go from just an exhibit to a complete 40 hour curriculum. Teaching them how to run the piping and how to do this work."

Folks can get hands-on experience with this new green technology. Something Ryan says students, teachers and companies appreciate.

"They love the unit itself, the trailer itself and they love the fact that all these units can be taken out. We can take them into a classroom," adds Ryan.

The Arkansas Apprenticeship Coalition purchased the unit with a sub-grant it received from the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.

Last year, DWS received a $4.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to provide training for green jobs in the following areas: energy efficient building, construction and retrofitting; renewable electric power; and energy efficiency assessment. The grant was funded with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars.

Since receiving the grant, DWS has partnered with 20 community colleges and the AAC to develop curriculum and programs to train students for green jobs. AAC received a $300,000 sub-grant from DWS to develop a training curriculum and purchase the mobile unit.

The mobile unit will be used by the construction apprenticeship program around the state to train a minimum of 1,000 new and incumbent workers for green jobs in six areas:

• Plumbing - The unit demonstrates an environmentally-friendly toilet flushing system.
• Geothermal - Students will receive hands-on training by conducting tests and adjustments on a modern geothermal heat pump.
• Solar heat - This unit gives students a first-hand look at how a solar hot water heating system operates.
• Residential piping - This demonstrates a series of modern waste flushing systems.
• Solar photovoltaic - Students will observe two solar photovoltaic modules.
• Wind-powered generators - Students will get the basic understanding of how wind generators function as an alternate source of energy.

The mobile unit will assist the organization with its effort, as the unit will be used by apprenticeship programs around the state, specifically in the following cities: Batesville, Benton, Camden, Conway, El Dorado, Forrest City, Harrison, Hope, Hot Springs, Jonesboro, Fort Smith, Little Rock, Malvern, Magnolia, Mena, Mountain Home, North Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Searcy, Springdale, Texarkana and West Helena.

(Source: Department of Workforce Services)