The provincial government plans to spend $370,000 to help train another 50 building energy advisers over the next few months.
Twenty-five people will be trained at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo in partnership with City Green Solutions. The eight-week program offered from April to June will provide training on conducting residential energy assessments.
Another 25 students are being trained at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in partnership with Sustainable Community Enterprises, ASPECT and the Environmental Youth Alliance. The students are being trained to conduct energy assessments on commercial, industrial and institutional buildings.
Graduates from the programs will be required to complete their professional certification through Natural Resources Canada or other entities that offer different types of certification credentials.
If they're successful, the number of certified energy advisers in the province could be increased by 50% to approximately 125. Currently, B.C. has more than 100 residential energy advisers certified by Natural Resources Canada for the LiveSmart BC Efficiency Incentive program and the federal government's ecoEnergy Retrofit programs.
To date, more than 18,000 British Columbians have conducted home energy assessments, and the government expects demand to grow as a result of the province's goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in B.C.