Home Builders Institute Prepared to Meet Obama’s Call for Increased Energy Efficiency in Homes

Home Builders Institute (HBI), the workforce development arm of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), announced today the release of its new Pre-Apprenticeship Certificate Training (PACT) Curriculum, which includes the latest in green construction skills and concepts.

“HBI’s new weatherization and green construction curriculum helps meet President Obama’s call for a workforce trained to improve the country’s energy efficiency in the residential sector,” said Fred Humphreys, president and chief executive officer of the Home Builders Institute. “PACT prepares workers to assess and upgrade homes to be more energy and cost-efficient.”

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, residential greenhouse gas emissions comprise 18 percent of those emitted each year in the United States. A panel of industry practitioners, training professionals and educators worked with HBI and NAHB’s National Green Program to identify the competencies and skills to ‘green’ the existing PACT curriculum. Two new training units based on the National Green Building Standard™ were also added covering green building and residential weatherization.

PACT enhances worker’s skills to increase proficiency in several facets of green building. Training added to the new curriculum includes topics such as:

• Construction materials for green carpentry;
• Material-efficient framing systems;
• Alternative water source systems;
• Waste and recycling alternatives for carpentry and masonry; and
• Diagnostic tools used in energy-efficient and green-building.

HBI instructors will be credentialed to teach the new PACT curriculum, which will be implemented in all of HBI’s trades training programs across the country.

About PACT

Recognized by the U.S. Departments of Labor and Housing and Urban Development as an outstanding tool to prepare workers for the residential construction industry, PACT integrates work-based learning with vocational and academic skills training. Related academics, industry-focused job readiness, employability skills, career development, life skills and on-the-job training are all part of the PACT curriculum. Further information about the PACT curriculum can be found online at www.hbi.org.

About Home Builders Institute

Home Builders Institute, the workforce development arm of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), is dedicated to the advancement and enrichment of education and training programs serving the needs of the housing industry. For more than 35 years, HBI has trained and placed thousands of youth and adults for careers in residential construction, ensuring that America has a skilled workforce today and for the future. HBI offers a range of education, training, job placement and curriculum development programs. For more information, go to www.hbi.org.