BOWLING GREEN, Mo. — The North East Community Action Corporation (NECAC) has again been featured in a national publication.

A story about the weatherization training program developed by NECAC was featured in the July 25 edition of “This Week in OA,” a newsletter of the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration National Office of Apprenticeships.

Two graduates of the NECAC apprenticeship program were presented with certificates July 7 by the U.S. Department of Labor. Two additional weatherization crew members are entering the program.

“The apprenticeship program is an excellent opportunity for a new employee to begin a career path in green energy,” said NECAC Deputy Director for Housing Development Programs Carla Potts, who oversees the program. “NECAC is excited about the opportunities this brings to Northeast Missouri. We appreciate the national recognition.”

The apprenticeship was developed by NECAC 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 the post-COVID labor market.

The NECAC effort began in March 2021. The program consists of 144 hours of classroom learning and 2,000 hours of on-the-job education.

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

The apprenticeship may be used as a model for weatherization across the country. With a national increase in funding to weatherization from the $1.2 trillion bi-partisan infrastructure bill approved by Congress last November, Community Action Agencies and other non-profits across the country are gearing up and adding new employees.

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.