June 28 -- The U.S. Department of Energy announced June 4 that the Tlingit and Haida Central Council would receive more than $960,000 in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to expand Alaska's weatherization training programs and establish a new weatherization training center in Juneau.
The award is one of 34 projects in 27 states selected to receive $29 million in stimulus funding.
The funds will be used to expand weatherization services for low-income households in Southeast Alaska by providing weatherization-related job training, according to the Department of Energy.
The program hopes to create 25 paid, on-the-job apprenticeships, employ trained personnel to address low-income housing units in need of weatherization, and support a training center and test home.
The training center will help prepare workers, supervisors and inspectors to work in the growing field of energy efficiency retrofits, using a combination of classroom, online and hands-on learning tools.
The Central Council is the only Alaskan organization to receive funding under the training program.
Source: DOE
