As New York prepares to upgrade thousands of buildings and create up to 140,000 green jobs, a delegation from the state recently visited Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board’s College of Further Education and Training, Green Innovation Campus, to learn from Ireland’s approach to green skills training.
The visit forms part of a wider multi-day fact-finding programme examining Ireland’s national approach to green building workforce development across Dublin, Offaly and Limerick.
Director of FET Paul Patton (centre) welcoming the New York delegates to the Green Innovation Campus.
Paul Patton, Director of Further Education and Training at Limerick and Clare ETB, welcomed the delegation and the opportunity to share expertise with the visiting group. “Hopefully the delegation can bring a lot of these ideas back to New York, where there are huge plans to retrofit a number of buildings and also create new green-skilled jobs” he said.
The Green Innovation Campus has attracted plenty of international attention for its expertise in sustainable construction and workforce development, with the New York delegation one of many visiting to learn how Irish training providers are preparing workers for large-scale retrofit and decarbonisation projects.
The visit focused on green building skills and workforce development, with the group learning how Irish training campuses are equipping workers with the skills needed for energy-efficient construction, retrofitting and decarbonisation work.
The campus was selected because of its recognised expertise in sustainable construction training and its status as a Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) Centre of Excellence. During the visit, delegates explored how best practices developed in Ireland could help shape workforce training programmes in New York.
Instructors at the Green Innovation Campus demonstrate their expertise in sustainable construction and retrofit training to the visiting New York delegation.
The visit also highlighted the growing international profile of the College of FET campus. Speaking during the visit, Martin Cournane, Further Education and Training Manager at Limerick and Clare ETB, said: “As a Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) Centre of Excellence, it is a privilege to be selected to welcome delegates who have shown great interest in our work and wanted to visit us.”
New York has introduced ambitious climate legislation through the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), with buildings accounting for approximately 40% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions. The state’s climate mandates are expected to drive upgrades across 50,000 buildings over the coming decade, with the potential to impact 15,000 buildings by 2030 and create up to 140,000 green jobs.
New York delegates pictured with staff from Limerick and Clare ETB.
The goal of the recent visit was to examine successful Irish training models and help inform the development of a coordinated green building workforce training ecosystem capable of supporting large-scale building decarbonisation across New York State.
The visit is expected to inform ongoing work to develop a scalable blueprint for workforce development that can support equitable building decarbonisation and long-term green skills growth in New York State.
Tomas O’Reilly, Founder and Managing Director of MosArt Architecture, a sustainable design practice, was also present during the visit and welcomed the focus on international collaboration. “Partnerships are very important and we can all learn from each other. We have specialist experience that we can transfer across the pond, and vice versa, and by sharing this experience, we can help shape the skills needed for a more sustainable future.”
For more information on Limerick and Clare ETB’s College of FET Green Innovation Campus, visit https://collegeoffet.ie/green-skills/