Why Green Building Construction Skills Are a Smart Investment in Your Future

If you’re considering a career in construction or carpentry, you may want to think about pursuing a job in green building construction.

This rising career field is taking off in new and exciting ways. It’s work that can add purpose or meaning to your life. If you want to create new structures with your own hands—structures that protect and enhance our environment—a career in green construction building may be the right fit for you.

What exactly is “green building construction,” and why is it a wise choice for your future? Here’s what you need to know. 

What Is “Green Building?”

According to the World Green Building Council, a “green” building reduces negative impacts on our climate and natural environment and even creates positive impacts on the surrounding environment. 

For a building to be considered green, much thought goes into the design, construction and operation of the building. These buildings are made with the idea of using recycled materials and preserving natural resources to protect the environment and improve our quality of life.

All buildings can be green buildings, which means that you can apply green building construction skills to the building of schools, homes, offices, hospitals or any structures designed to protect the environment.

What kinds of features make a building “green?”

• Efficient use of water, energy and other resources
• The use of renewable energy like solar or wind energy
• The concept of reuse and recycling as well as pollution and waste reduction
• A focus on good indoor air quality
• The use of materials that are nontoxic and ethically and sustainably produced
• The consideration of the existing environment in design, construction and operation
• The consideration of the quality of life for the building’s occupants
• A design that adapts to a changing environment

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a lot to say about green building as well. Green building construction can include things like location-efficient construction, photovoltaic panels, the use of existing structures, greener demolition and compact development.

The Growth of Green Building

Green building construction doesn’t seem to be a trend that’s going away. In fact, it looks like it’s here to stay.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) anticipates that global green building activity will continue to increase and that we will see significant increases in 19 countries between 2018 and 2021. Nearly half of those polled by the USGBC expected that 60 percent of their construction projects between 2018 and 2021 would be green based. 

The rise in green building isn’t just for new construction; it’s green retrofits too, which improve the construction and conditions of existing buildings to make them more eco-friendly. More than 50 percent of those polled by the USGBC also said that green retrofits will provide them with significant opportunities for growth.

Why It Matters: Learning Green Building Construction Skills

Green construction already plays an important role in the American construction industry, the energy sector and the U.S. economy, but its role only is expected to grow, which means more jobs and better jobs for green building construction workers. In 2015 alone, more than 2.3 million U.S. workers took home $143 billion in wages thanks to green building programs, and today, more than 3 million people are employed in the energy efficiency sector.

Green building programs like Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design  (LEED) are contributing to the U.S. economy in big ways. By itself, LEED construction added $109 billion to the gross domestic product (GDP) and supported 1.4 million jobs and $96 million in labor earnings for workers.  

But what does this mean for you if you’re considering a career in green building construction? 

More and more homeowners and commercial developers are seeking to create environmentally friendly structures, and green building contractors are in high demand. Green building is more affordable than ever and is not an abstract idea anymore; it’s happening around the country and throughout the world. 

The rise of available jobs for these “green-collar workers” is on the rise. Because of this, you’ll have job security and added earnings as green construction grows in popularity, and you’ll be working in a rewarding, hands-on field that improves the world around you.

Are you ready to start building a greener world from the ground up? At the Center for Employment Training (CET), our Green Building Construction program can have you job-ready in as little as eight to nine months with low tuition fees and support from our dedicated team along the way. You can learn the skills you need to install solar panels, build green structures with sustainable materials, install earth-friendly plumbing and more.

Don’t just build your future; build an eco-friendly future at CET. Contact us today to get started!