NCCER Environmental Course to Be Taught at All SCIs in 2024
January 18, 2024 12:00 AM
Starting this year, the NCCER course Your Role in the Green Environment will be taught at all state correctional institutions in Pennsylvania. Graduates of this two-week, 15-hour class will earn a valuable, nationally-recognized NCCER certification that can help them be more competitive in the job market upon reentry.
In the course, students will:
- Identify how and why the construction industry impacts the environment
- Learn how craft workers can influence Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)
- Will attain LEED certification
The DOC Education Department hopes to issue 500 Your Role in Green Environment certifications in 2024. From July 2022 through June 2023, incarcerated students earned more than 1,050 NCCER certificates.
“[Students] will have the opportunity to become more knowledgeable in a field that is most relevant in our world today, and it will also provide them the skills needed to successfully address and minimize the impact of construction on our environment,” said Michael Gent, curriculum coordinator at the DOC’s Division of Corrections Education. “These students will complete the course along with a basic construction course and then progress on to a course in a skilled trade."