Grant-winning Partnership Includes AGC Houston Chapter

The AGC Houston Chapter, along with several other organizations, joined a group headed by SER – Jobs for Progress of the Texas Gulf Coast, Inc., to win a $3.1 million Pathways Out of Poverty grant from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). The grant will serve high school dropouts, ex-offenders, and unemployed and disadvantaged individuals in Houston, Texas, through employment in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. Other partners include Houston Community College, the U.S. Green Building Council and the  AFL-CIO. SER is a national, private, nonprofit organization making a positive impact on families across America. According to the SER – Jobs for Progress of the Texas Gulf Coast application, the partners plan to train and place approximately 300 individuals in weatherization, energy-efficiency and energy-efficiency-assessment occupations. The participants will train for employable proficiency and apprenticeship admission in the core competencies for construction and building trades required by the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER). Upon successful completion of pre-apprenticeship training, participants will receive occupational training in one of three occupations: 1) weatherization worker technician coupled with Green Advantage certification; 2) solar panel installer; or 3) HERS energy rater/whole house diagnostician. Participants will subsequently receive on-the-job training and full-time employment through the grantee’s placement service, and support services through the grantee’s partnering organizations. DOL encouraged applicants to focus project efforts in communities located within one or more contiguous Public Micro Data Areas (PUMAs) where poverty rates were 15 percent or higher. PUMAs are geographic areas designated by the U.S. Census Bureau. All applicants were required to have experience serving economically disadvantaged populations. DOL has posted a complete list of all 38 grant recipients, along with their project descriptions.