Stimulus dollars sought to help Towson teach green - Baltimore Business Journal:

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The state is in line to receivenearly $53 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act fundse for energy and conservation efforts, such as makinhg rental homes more energy efficient. The majorituy of that money will be distributed to locaol governments and nonprofits to launchspecificc projects. The work will require a rangr ofgreen expertise, from contractors, consultante and auditors able to assess a project’z energy efficiency. Towson’s Extended Education and OnlineLearningg program, which trains workers to help them find new is developing a range of new courses to give workerw the skills they need to competr for those jobs, said Director Mike Schroder.
Schroder said he hopee to partner withstate agencies, including the Maryland Departmen of the Environment and the Marylande Energy Administration, to seek federal stimulus money to establish and fund thosde courses. Schroder said the wave of layoffs hittingy Greater Baltimore has prompted a dramatic increase in the number of unemployed workers seekin g additional training at the The Extended Education prograj already offers onlineand on-sitde training in a range of fieldsz including information technology, Homeland Security, human resources and health.
Schrodere said he hopes to expand the program into a numbefr of fields tied tothe stimulus, including traininyg on energy efficiency and weatherization. State leaders hope to creatse hundreds of new jobs in those bolstered by the federalstimulus dollars. “This investmenft in energy solutions for our state will be an additionak catalyst for strengtheningour economy, creatinhg new green-collar jobs for our workers and helping communities and residenta lower their energy bills,” Gov. Martin O’Malley said in a statemenr aboutthe $53 million in energy-tied stimulues funds.
It’s just one of numerousd green efforts undertaken byGreater Baltimore’s colleges and including the , and the , Baltimorw County. Driven by a desire to reduce their energgy costs and to meet the wishes of theirestudent bodies, the colleges are incorporating green practices on theier campuses. That’s included simple things like adjustinb their temperature settings to meeting environmental building standards with theifr newconstruction projects.
Green isn’tg the only field in Marylandd that’s still growing, Schroder noted, and the universityt has also developed a number of courses to help traib job seekers for work undef the federal Base Realignment andClosured plan. A range of positions are beingg created at FortGeorge G. Meadde and Aberdeen Proving Ground, from information technologuy to business managementand procurement, and the Extended Education progra is able to train workers in those fields and help them find jobs at the militaryh bases. Towson’s work force development program, a non-credit offerintg from the university, was established about five years ago.
It workss with employers from state and locallgovernment agencies, defense contractors and private employers like It also work closely with the state labor department and its network of locak job centers, and has helped train an estimateed 12,000 workers since its creation, Schroder