The launch of 10 new short-term, weekday evening courses at Camosun College is giving tradespeople and working professionals the opportunity to learn how to build net-zero homes.
The college’s clean energy and building courses – known as micro-credentials or nanodegrees – are broken into four specializations: photo voltaic design, photo voltaic installer, passive house designer, and passive house tradesperson. All of them are intended to shift the building sector toward more renewable designs.
Demand for sustainable homes is only increasing, Mark Bernhardt of the Canadian Home Builders Association said.
“There is currently a high demand for trades and other industry professionals that can deliver these buildings and that demand will only increase,” he said.
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Camosun’s courses range between one and six weeks in length and the majority will run online on weekday evenings to make them as accessible as possible. Hands-on experience will be available for specific micro-credentials.
The courses are the result of a $211,000 grant from B.C.’s Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training, which will also be used to build new clean energy and energy efficient lab space at the college. In a statement Feb. 9, Camosun said it hopes to have the first group of students enrolled by March.
“Micro-credentials are a non-traditional way of learning that highlight individual expertise and skill-building, and are changing the future of education from a time-based method of learning to a competency-based one,” the college said.
More information on the micro-credentials can be at camosun.ca.
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