Weatherization students are totally green

    It’s not September, but twenty one Philadelphia residents have started school this week. City officials welcomed the first class at a Green Jobs Training Center in Kensington yesterday. The entry-level students in the four-week weatherization program are all unemployed, and half are transitioning off of public assistance.

    It’s not September, but twenty one Philadelphia residents have started school this week. City officials welcomed the first class at a Green Jobs Training Center in Kensington yesterday. The entry-level students in the four-week weatherization program are all unemployed, and half are transitioning off of public assistance.
    Caption: Mayor Nutter practices caulking a window.

    Listen:
    [audio: 090421lfgreen.mp3]

    When Mayor Michael Nutter tells the group he expects one of them will take the weatherization skills to a new level and own a business someday, Howard Cross nods.

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    The Germantown resident has done home repair and remodeling work in the past, but for more than a year he’s been unemployed. Cross says the weatherization training program is part of putting his life back together.

    Cross: I have been forced to make some changes and then as a result of current events and all the optimism surrounding the green sense I thought would also contribute to the future possibilities as far as my situation is concerned.

    The students will learn the fundamentals of residential home energy retrofitting including air sealing, insulating, and basic carpentry.

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