BOWLING GREEN, Mo. — A job training apprenticeship program developed by NECAC for its newly-hired weatherization employees is getting more national attention.

   Wade Johnson of the U.S. Department of Labor will present certificates to the first two graduates of the program on Thursday, July 7 at the NECAC headquarters in Bowling Green . Nine other NECAC employees are scheduled to join the program and Johnson is expected to make an announcement about its expansion.

  NECAC has been instrumental in developing the apprenticeship program to be used as a model for weatherization nationwide.

   With a national increase in funding to the home weatherization program due to the $1.2 trillion bi-partisan infrastructure bill approved by Congress last November, Community Action Agencies and other non-profit weatherization agencies across the country are gearing up and adding thousands of new employees.

   Missouri expects to receive $73 to $80 million of those additional funds with NECAC’s projected contracted share with the state at $4.5 million.  NECAC plans to add 20 to 30 additional employees to do work at an estimated 500 additional homes in the agency’s 12 Missouri counties starting this month.

   The apprentice program developed by NECAC is in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor, Missouri Department of Labor, the Northeast Missouri Workforce Development Board and Pike-Lincoln Technical Center.

   The goal is to provide newly-hired weatherization employees with skills that will allow them to work in a variety of construction and energy job fields.  It also is a way to reassure other non-profit weatherization agencies that they’re developing top qualified employees in this new challenging labor market.

   The NECAC effort began in March 2021. So far, NECAC has hired and trained two apprentice employees. The program consists of 144 hours of classroom learning and 2,000 hours of on-the-job education.

   Upon completion, the new employees will earn a Department of Labor certification as a home performance laborer. Northeast Workforce Development will recruit potential employees from schools and vocational programs.