By Laura Hayes, Senior Community Reporter
MARLBOROUGH – A new job training program has come to Marlborough in the form of the Green Jobs Academy, which provides training for jobs in the weatherization industry.
Green Jobs Academy is now open at 91 Bartlett St. in Marlborough.
Officials gathered at the new facility on Oct. 25 to celebrate its opening, which coincided with Energy Awareness Month.
“It’s great to have these training programs in place,” said Marlborough Mayor Arthur Vigeant. “It’s great that it’s here in the city. I’m really excited about that.”
Vigeant added that there are “so many” job openings in the city.
Melissa Cusson is the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) Division Director of Energy and Conservation and oversees the Green Jobs Academy, which is one of SMOC’s programs.
She said the academy has a dual mission to provide entry-level skill training for people to scale the career ladder in the weatherization industry while also providing continued education for professionals.
“I think that this Green Job Academy really exemplifies that partnership between the government, between different agencies, between our private companies — they’re all coming together to work toward a singular goal,” said Rep. Maria Robinson (D-Framingham).
On display in the learning environment on Oct. 25 was a diagnostic cabin and a mobile home test unit, the latter of which Cusson said lets students get familiar with the nuances of mobile home construction.
“We’re doing our part to fight climate change and building up the workforce to get the job done,” Cusson said.
