Date: Wednesday, Oct. 6

Time: 10:30 am – 11:30 am PDT (1:30 pm -2:30 pm EDT)

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Moderator:

Mekha Abraham, Program Manager, OHCS Multifamily Energy Program

Panelists:

Michael Figueredo, OHCS, Weatherization Training & Technical Assistance Coordinator

James Metoyer, Workforce Development Training Manager, Earth Advantage

Lisa Palermo, Development Director, Oregon Tradeswoman

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Description:

In the next twenty years more than 580,000 new homes must be added in Oregon, and more than half of them need to be affordable. While the demand for new affordable housing continues to grow, a construction workforce shortage is also growing throughout the state. To meet the demand, the construction industry will need to attract new talent that’s highly skilled, qualified, and diverse. In this session, you’ll hear from state leaders offering multiple training programs to address this gap, including initiatives focused on the green building and energy-efficiency industry, which is growing fast as new energy policies are rolled out from the local to global level to drive down energy use and emissions from buildings. Audience participation is highly encouraged, so take part in order to better understand your construction workforce needs in affordable housing.