Training Western New York’s new sustainability workforce

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Tanesha Burnett is an experienced baker who runs her own business but is looking to become an electrician. Jeffery Campbell wants to go into heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC). And Mohamad Irfan Kabir Ahmed, who came to Buffalo from Malaysia a year ago, is interested in pursuing an architecture degree at the University at Buffalo.

Each has a different interest, but all three learned the skills and tools that will prepare them for their future career paths through a six-week course offered in partnership between the Resilient Buildings Lab in UB’s School of Architecture and Planning and People United for Sustainable Housing, or PUSH Buffalo.

The course is part of a larger effort between PUSH Buffalo and UB, and funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), to train Buffalo community members at PUSH’s new Sustainability Workforce Training Center. The region’s first green job training facility, the center supports jobs in the energy efficiency and clean technology sectors, fields for which there is a shortage of workers due to a lack of training opportunities in the greater Buffalo area.

For Richard Hanaburgh, workforce recruitment manager for PUSH Buffalo, it’s all about providing opportunities to disadvantaged communities and people who have traditionally not had as much access to the trades and green technology jobs.

“We want this to be an entry point to careers that are family sustaining and, as part of that, lead to a healthier community,” Hanaburgh says, adding that it’s also about providing job opportunities for Buffalo residents rather than seeing companies fill those jobs using workers from other cities and even other states.

“That’s really been a missed opportunity here for years,” he says. “We’re trying to make up for some lost time and train our community members here to fill these jobs that we are going to need more of over the next five to 10 years.”

Having a training center in Buffalo means that workers won’t have to travel to other cities to receive the training and certifications required of many of these positions.

“By moving things into our community, we’re moving the levers of power back to the community,” Hanaburgh says.

This was the first such class offered in the Sustainability Workforce Training Center. UB Resilient Building Lab researchers Nicholas Rajkovich, PhD, associate professor of architecture in UB’s School of Architecture and Planning, and Laura Lubniewski, clinical assistant professor of architecture at UB — both of whom are certified passive house consultants — developed the curriculum for the Community Climate Leadership Program last summer.

The class, which wrapped up in mid-August, was held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and students received a paycheck for their participation.

Each day focused on a different concept, with students — ranging in age from 15 to 33 — learning about it in the morning and then spending the afternoon doing a hands-on activity using a variety of tools and equipment. In one session, students learned about home heating and cooling in the morning, then used infrared cameras to check for missing insulation and detect problems in HVAC systems.

Each Thursday was devoted to learning how to conduct a home energy audit. “That involves going into an existing building and assessing it for how well it uses energy and what improvements can be made to make it more energy efficient, to save on utility bills, and how to transition away from fossil fuels to all electric by, for example, replacing natural gas appliances with electric heat pumps,” says Lubniewski.

Students spent the final three days of the course conducting an energy audit on the GRoW Clean Energy Center on UB’s North Campus.

Guest speakers gave students further insight into what it’s like to work in these fields, and how they can get started in them. Students also received coaching each week on soft skills to help prepare them for applying for jobs.

“We have ‘Motivation Mondays’ where we work with the students individually on their resume and cover letter, and do practice interviews,” says co-instructor Briana Egan, who obtained her bachelor’s in architecture from UB and just graduated from the master’s program, and is also a certified passive house consultant. “A lot of them like the job security potential for these fields and are interested in pursuing employment in them, but some of the students also are just interested in learning how they can improve their own home.”

“It’s really given me the tools to do a lot of everything. It’s teaching me a lot of things that I didn’t know and now I’m like, oh, wait, I can do that at home!” says Burnett, a baker who lives on Buffalo’s West Side and plans to pursue a career as an electrician.

She said she’s enjoyed learning how to conduct home energy audits and how to read contractor’s blueprints.

Ahmed is a rising high school senior who plans to attend UB’s School of Architecture and Planning next fall. His favorite part of the course was learning to read and produce architectural drawings. “Even though it’s very hard, I find it fun,” he says, adding that he also enjoyed learning how to use an infrared camera to detect HVAC leaks.

Campbell, the Buffalo resident interested in finding employment in the HVAC sector, said the course has heightened his already high interest in the field.

“It’s been great. It’s actually making me want to get way more into it,” he says. “I can’t wait to get out there and find a job.”

PUSH plans to offer additional trainings going forward. “What’s happening here is so exciting and we can’t wait to create further opportunities for the community,” says Catherine Colella, workforce recruitment coordinator for PUSH.