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NAMC-Oregon recently won a significant grant from the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF) that it will use to help prepare and train its members for climate change and the clean economy.

鈥淥ne of the big trends in the construction industry is all things clean and green. When you are talking about energy specifically, you鈥檙e talking about clean energy on the jobsite,鈥� said John Jackley, NAMC-OR鈥檚 strategy and program consultant. 鈥淭here are a lot of things BIPOC contractors want to do, and we just can鈥檛 afford to have BIPOC contractors fall behind one more time.鈥�

NAMC-OR is creating a comprehensive clean economy construction training program and curriculum for BIPOC contractors who are Portland residents, with a special emphasis on Black contractors. This training program and curriculum will become a significant element of NAMC University, which is an historic partnership between NAMC-OR and the Associated General Contractors Oregon-Columbia chapter (AGC).

The planning grant will focus on three major areas, the first of which is contractors who are already directly working in the clean economy. NAMC-OR will assess them thoroughly and develop trainings and curriculum to strengthen their existing business lines, identify training and capacity-building specific to the clean economy, and expand their contract volume and BIPOC workforce.

The second group is contractors who could be working in the clean economy but aren鈥檛. These include conventional roofers lacking specialty material certifications, electricians who do not currently work on solar panels, small BIPOC general contractors, and architects lacking training and software.

NAMC-OR will assess their current practices, opportunities and markets, and develop trainings and curricula to help them move into those areas.

For contractors who do not work in the clean economy or are not immediately adjacent to it, NAMC-OR will develop training and company-specific business plans. It also will match them with mentors or peers with expertise in these fields to gain support and entrance into the clean economy.

For all three groupings of contractors, NAMC University would continue to work closely with AGC and other industry experts to provide the most advanced and accessible training possible. NAMC-OR鈥檚 existing contract with the Energy Trust of Oregon will allow NAMC University to converge the PCEF-funded clean economy training function with the training conducted with the Energy Trust and its industry partners.

鈥淣AMC is going to be able to leverage its training capacity and partnerships with the advocacy side to ensure owners and private developers don鈥檛 have exclusionary practices and to build capacity for contractors,鈥� noted Nate McCoy, executive director of NAMC-OR.