Community colleges with new courses and degree programs will ensure a new generation of managers who are well aware of all environmental issues essential for energy-conscious economy. The government is now putting $500 million into training managers for green jobs. According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the sector of energy efficiency is expected to grow significantly soon. As “Green-collar jobs” have become very popular among the public, educational institutions have decided to start programs training the managers in this sphere. These people are expected to supervise the technologies, processes and materials that are crucial for conserving energy and helping protect natural resources.
Some of these community colleges are offering two-year degrees in environmental management and certificates for those managers who want to have green qualifications in their resumes which will become evidence that they are experts in a particular field of environmental issues. These colleges provide courses and training not only on campus but also online.
For example, Lane Community College, in Eugene, Ore., which was a proposer of environmental education, provides two-year programs in renewable energy, water conservation and energy management. According to Roger Ebbage, director of energy programs at the college’s Northwest Energy Education Institute, degree programs offered by this community college serves a good example for 10 other community colleges. The managerial graduates of the college are in great demand because “they are working for utilities, on engineering jobs, for school districts, cities and the military”.
Stephanie Smith, the college’s academic vice president, wrote in his custom essay: “Lane is the national leader in this program, and we are modeling our program on them”. Then she added: “The program, which opened student enrollment this month, will have 30 students, both entering freshmen and older people trying to retool their skills”.
