Portland Community Benefits Fund Awards Earth Advantage $1.2M for Workforce Projects

Earth Advantage has secured two awards from the Portland Community Benefits Fund (PCEF’s) third round of Community Responsive Grants. Totaling nearly $1,200,000 over two years, the awards will support workforce efforts in the residential construction industry. One project will focus on teaching new skills to existing HVAC and plumbing professionals, while the other aims to bring new workers into the home energy retrofit sector.  

Both grants awarded to Earth Advantage fall under PCEF’s Workforce and Contractor Development funding area. The first includes $145,000 for advanced technical training for residential HVAC and plumbing contractors. Led by industry experts, the training will cover the latest standards in energy efficiency and sustainability practices with the goal of improving the overall quality of HVAC and plumbing installations in the city and creating new business opportunities for local contractors. By achieving this goal, the project aims to support local small businesses while promoting energy efficient practices within the residential construction sector. 

The second grant provides $1,037,007 for the delivery of the Home Energy Retrofit Occupations (HERO) Academy, a training and work-based learning program focused on introducing new workers to  careers as Heat Pump and Water Heater installers. The HERO Academy aims to facilitate a bridge to employment for pre-apprenticeship graduates through specialized credentials and subsidized on-the-job training. The multi-phased program will target PCEF priority populations, including people of color, low-income residents, women, and those from the criminal justice system. 

“Growing the number of skilled workers who can build and remodel energy efficient homes is critical to our mission of advancing an informed and humane housing market,” said Ryan LaPoma, Sr. Education Manager at Earth Advantage. “Together the projects enabled by these grants will serve the dual purpose of improving the technical skills of the existing workforce and creating opportunities for communities traditionally underrepresented in the residential high performance construction industry. We’re grateful to PCEF for helping to fund this important work.”

About Earth Advantage
Earth Advantage is a non-profit organization helping to advance a more informed and humane housing market. We work to ensure the US housing market recognizes the elements of homes that create climate risk and values the characteristics of homes that provide climate solutions. Our teams partner with entities across the country to develop tangible, systemic solutions for climate-friendly housing.