Green Building Construction Skills Lacking, Says WSJ
A recent story in the Wall Street Journal claims that green building is being hindered by lack of skills among architects, general contractors and subcontractors. We’re likely to see this gap grow as green building growth exceeds the ability of building industry professionals to get trained on green construction issues and to learn new skills.
That’s at least what the WSJ story claims and it does make an argument for government help to re-educate the construction industry work force. I think the bigger issue is in the materials and products space, where the temptation is for architects (and some engineers) to specify products and systems that may not be fully proven, or may not be available through normal supply chains. What the story does indicate is that there will be a considerable market for green building education and training for the next several years, especially in the homebuilding industry. I’m pretty much convinced that commercial construction can do the job on its own, but the homebuilding workforce really needs education in designing super energy-efficient and green homes. (I think everyone in homebuilding should be reading my 2008 book for homebuyers, Choosing Green, as the fastest way to get up to speed on the subject.) There is also a crying educational need for everyone associated with the building industry, such as real estate brokers, appraisers, lenders, etc.
Posted by (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/27/2008 at 11:23 AM
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