LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified green buildings are becoming increasingly prevalent and even mandates as city, state, and federal agencies embrace the LEED rating system as the accepted standard for green building practices..
Several large cities, including Boston, Washington DC, and Pasadena, California, are *requiring* private construction to meet LEED criteria if the project reaches a predetermined square footage. San Jose has taken it a step further by requiring that all new developments, regardless of size, must be LEED certified, and in New Mexico (the whole state), new buildings over 15,000 square feet must meet LEED standards. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), which is responsible for financing and construction services for public and nonprofit institutions in New York, also has plans to make all of its projects green by requiring LEED certification.
All of this is great news for the green movement, but it’s also an opportunity for those of us who are in the job market, including recent graduates or the recently laid off, to retrain and develop skills that are in high demand. The president of national LEED consulting and training provider CleanEdison, Avi Yashchin, comments that “the students in our LEED training courses come from all professional backgrounds. We’ve gotten architects and engineers, real estate professionals, lawyers – all kinds of people. They all want to improve their professional skills and become more marketable.” Opportunists see this as the chance to enter a field that is on the brink of booming, and with the federal requirements for LEED and currently over 8.5 billion in Federal RFPs waiting to be snatched up, it’s a good idea to get involved – now.
The first step in getting involved is to become a LEED AP (accredited professional). This is an accreditation created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), the same group responsible for creating the LEED rating system for buildings. The LEED Green Associate credential, the prerequisite for the LEED AP, demonstrates that you understand and support green design and indicates that your products and buildings are actually compliant with sustainable practices. If you’re interested in showing a more extensive knowledge of green building, you can apply for one of five LEED AP specialties: Homes, Interior Design and Construction, Building Design and Construction, Operations and Management, and Neighborhood Development.
Becoming a LEED AP involves passing a notoriously difficult exam, but a wide variety of resources, including study guides and tailored courses at CleanEdison (http://www.cleanedison.com), can improve your odds of passing. CleanEdison, which was recently honored by Consumer Trend News (CT N) as a Top 5 Green Education Provider, also provides training for other green accreditations, like the Building Performance Institute’s Building Analyst certification and courses on financing your next green project.
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