Are you ready for green building?

GPRO, a national green building certificate program for trades-people and contractors, is now available on Long Island! Beginning immediately, USGBC-LI together with select partner organizations will be providing GPRO training across Nassau and Suffolk Counties. GPRO is a comprehensive training and certificate program, developed by the trades for the trades. Unlike the majority of green education, which is meant for architects and engineers, the goal of GPRO is to teach the people who actually build, renovate, and maintain buildings the principles of sustainability and construction techniques that will use resources more efficiently and make buildings healthier for occupants. As the local and national economy digs out from the worst recession since the 1930s, workers need to understand and implement green building practices in order to remain competitive. The LEED green building standard is now mandatory for new federal construction, and many influential private developers are fully committed to sustainable building projects. Commercial and residential tenants at all levels are also demanding green features in the spaces they rent. Skilled workers must be prepared to work in accordance with new regulations and to meet the expectations of owners and tenants who want healthier, environmentally sustainable, and energy-efficient homes and offices. GPRO covers the "green gap" between conventional trade skills and the new awareness required to successfully implement green building. The principal assumption is that participants already know their trade, whether they are plumbers, electricians, or building operators, and these courses give them the additional green tools they may not have experienced on conventionally-built projects. Each candidate will take a 4-hour course in Fundamentals of Building Green, which presents the basic issues related to sustainability and green building. The candidate will then take a 6-8 hour trade-specific course (the current courses are: Construction Management, Operations & Maintenance Essentials, Electrical Systems, Plumbing and Mechanical-HVAC (in development). This is followed shortly by a 50-question multiple-choice exam. Upon passing the exam, the candidate becomes a GPRO Certificate holder in the completed courses. A GPRO certificate demonstrates that an individual understands green building as it applies to his or her trade and enhances that person's ability to compete for and participate in green jobs. Built for a national audience to address a national need, GPRO provides one multi-state, third party certificate program for the full range of construction professionals. Urban Green Council, the New York Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council, developed GPRO, Green Professional Building Skills Training, in collaboration with leading unions, contractors and educators. The final product is a comprehensive training program that caters to the building industry's unique needs. GPRO is distributed and supported through a consortium of U.S. Green Building Council Chapters across the country. Our shared goal is to have GPRO become a recognized and meaningful certificate that increases sustainability on construction sites and in existing buildings across the country. Vince Capogna, LEED AP ID+C, GPRO: O&M, CM, is the executive director of the Long Island Chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council and principal of Synergy Green Building Group, Inc., New Hyde Park, N.Y.