Sept. 16, 2011

HARRISBURG -- Nancy Sutley, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, got a bird’s-eye view of successful green jobs training programs during a visit Friday to HACC’s Midtown site.

Graduates of HACC’s alternative energy programs joined President John J. “Ski” Sygielski, Dean of Workforce Development and Training Cindy Reiner, and faculty and staff for the roundtable discussion on the college’s partnership with Central Pennsylvania business and industry to meet the demands of 21^st century jobs.

These programs, many of which receive federal and state funding, use American-manufactured equipment to train students for jobs cleaning up and restoring contaminated properties, installing solar electric systems, and conducting energy efficiency upgrades.

HACC’s environmental technician program, for example, is funded by a federal EPA grant. Another program for unemployed or underemployed workers who are interested in a career in green technology is funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry State Energy Sector Partnership.

During her HACC visit, Sutley also talked about President Obama’s American Jobs Act, which proposes a $5 billion investment in modernizing community colleges.

In addition to HACC, Sutley visited a Chambersburg school and a York County business. In the morning, she toured Grandview Elementary School, an ENERGY STAR certified school in the Chambersburg Area School District, to learn how the school district has achieved more than $2 million in cost savings through energy efficiency measures.

Then she visited Flight Systems Electronics Group (FSEG) in Lewisberry, which has 70 jobs since 2009 to expand to a 240-employee workforce. The company recycles and remanufactures electronic products for transportation, industrial, and commercial customers.