A Willamette Valley community college hopes to boost the renewable energy workforce after winning a $600,000 grant from the state.

The Oregon Department of Energy awarded Chemeketa Community College, which has locations in Salem, Woodburn and McMinnville, $601,537 to launch the Energy Efficiency and Building Technology Training Program.

The college was one of six organizations awarded a grant from the agency. It received the largest grant the agency awarded through the program.

The program will provide pre-apprenticeships, apprenticeships, and training in English and Spanish in renewable energy workforce skills for:

• Heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration, or HVAC/R.
• Home weatherization strategies.
• Heat pump and heat pump water heater installations.
• Electrical panel upgrades.
• Maximizing home energy efficiency using emerging technologies.
• Navigating available incentives and rebates.

According to Francisco Saldivar, executive dean for career and technical education at Chemeketa Community College, the grant will allow the college to create short-term training in some very high demand fields.

According to the Clean Energy Transition Institute, an independent, nonpartisan Northwest nonprofit organization, energy employment in the Pacific Northwest, including Montana and Idaho, is expected to grow by nearly 63,000 jobs between now and 2030. Oregon could see a 12% increase in renewable energy jobs.

Between 2021 to 2030, residential HVAC employment is expected to add about 2,800 jobs, while commercial HVAC is expected to add more than 16,000 jobs.

“One of the things we’re going to do with this training program is provide some short-term training in the energy efficiency field to help those in pre-apprentice have some skills to bring into the workforce as they get hired as an apprentice, and they start their actual apprenticeship in HVAC/R or sheet metal worker,” he said.

Sheet metal workers focus on installing the heating and cooling units into the buildings, while HVAC technicians maintain or repair them.

Some of the training will involve how to install and maintain HVACs as well as how to install heat pumps, which is the driver of the grant, Saldivar said.

“The premise for our piece in the grant was to help add some new technology, some energy efficient systems, specifically air to air heat pumps into the training in our program and then offer specialized training to incumbent workers that are already HVAC technicians licensed in the state to add that training in their repertoire so they can start to install, maintain and service heat pumps,” he said. “The demand is very, very high.”

Saldivar said heat pumps have been around for years but have not been widely used until recently.

That’s because through federal and state rebates, and even some local programs, people now have more financial support for installing heat pumps in their homes.

The Oregon Department of Energy offers incentives to help homeowners and renters get access to heat pumps. One of those programs became so popular, it ran out of funding within its first year.

But the workforce in these fields is currently limited, according to Saldivar.

Many people experience a wait when they need to service their air conditioning or heating units, he said, because there are not enough skilled people that can do the job.

“The short-term trainings are things that we can do really quick,” he said.

“We’re already collecting input from industry and what they would like to see and some of the trainings that they would like to have the incumbent workers do, and then will look at, ‘OK, this is what we’re going to add’ and start creating these short term courses so that students can take right away based on what industry wants to have and what some of the manufacturers do.”

Chemeketa will also partner with Farmworker Housing Development Corporation, an Oregon nonprofit, to co-develop curriculum. Through the nonprofit’s Evolve Workforce & Multifamily Housing Services program, Saldivar hopes to increase recruitment of people in Woodburn who are from communities most impacted by climate change and economic disparities.

In 2023, Oregon lawmakers passed legislation that allocated $2 million to create a competitive grant to increase the renewable energy workforce.

“Each of these organizations provide access to invaluable education and trainings, mentorship, or hands-on experiences that expand access to family-wage jobs for community members around the state,” state Department of Energy Director Janine Benner said in an April statement.

“Having skilled professionals in heating, ventilation, home energy efficiency upgrades, and related crafts is pivotal to improving efficiency in the homes of Oregonians and reaching Oregon’s energy goals.”

Chemeketa expects to develop a full curriculum for the program by this fall.