The economic conditions appear to be tough for construction workers. February unemployment rates for construction workers grew from 24% to 27% which was disappointing news for all of us in the industry.

But it appears that people seeking careers or jobs in the construction or building industry should find a way to get trained in green construction techniques because that market continues to grow and is expected to have eight million jobs by 2013, according a study published by the US Green Building Council. The study called "Green Jobs Study" shows that currently there are approximately two million "green" jobs and they predict that will be a 32% increase in annual growth in green construction between now until 2013 even though the overall construction market has declined.

So if green buildings will grow, so will the opportunity for people who have green construction experience or training. The facts are indisputable; there is a huge benefit from "building" green not only in energy savings that are quite substantial, but also in reduced operational and maintenance costs. The above study estimates that green construction will save approximately $6 billion in energy costs between now and 2013 but what's impressive is that the operational savings predicted are also significant at almost $4 billion.
 
So bottom line is this; if you are looking for a career in construction, your focus should be on going "green" and learning all that there is to learn in this industry. That's what we are doing here at Centrim Electric and we hope to grow our own expertise in this area with more and more "green" projects.