Program Provides Training In The Clean Energy Industry

David Hampton recently completed the ComEd Market Development Initiative training program. He was one of 30 students. PHOTO PROVIDED BY AVOQ.
David Hampton recently completed the ComEd Market Development Initiative training program. He was one of 30 students. PHOTO PROVIDED BY AVOQ.

Program Provides Training In The Clean Energy Industry

By Tia Carol Jones

David Hampton was bouncing in between jobs. He worked as a cashier and a busser, but was looking for stable employment, and ultimately, a career. His grandfather talked to him about the emerging jobs that would come along with Illinois’ push to phase out fossil fuels by 2050 as part of the Clean Energy Jobs Act. He found ComEd’s Market Development Initiative training program.

“I felt like the program offered itself at the perfect time, especially for newcomers to get into something so lucrative,” Hampton said.

Hampton was one of 30 people to participate in ComEd’s Market Development Initiative training program. The goal of the program, which was launched earlier this year, is to expand the talent pipeline of local workers and entrepreneurs in the clean energy industry by providing them with industry-specific training and certifications. For this program, ComEd partnered with The Will Group and Walker-Miller.

Hampton and his cohort received education in air sealing, mold identification and remediation, proper ventilation and how to improve energy efficiency in homes. Hampton said there was a lot of training in class and from books, but the part of the training that resonated with him the most was the air sealing and filling walls with insulation. He said it was really interesting to be hands on and see the return.

“It got me because these are things that you interact with and see everyday, but you don’t understand what goes into making these things work efficiently,” he said.

Hampton said his lifestyle changed to accommodate the classes, having to wake up earlier than he did prior to being in the program. He said he found the discipline to change his lifestyle and his mindset because he knew being in the program would benefit him in the long run, and that served as his motivation. He added that the teachers in the cohort and other students provided an inclusive, supportive environment.

Hampton said being in the program changed his life, not only giving him skills that he can use for his career, but also making him a more efficient energy user. Now that he has completed the program, Hampton is looking forward to new certifications, job opportunities and receiving new information. He said the training he received from the MDI program is a good base to build upon. He is looking to grow in his career. He is currently doing on the job training with one of the program’s partners.

He said he would advise anyone thinking about participating in the MDI training program to do it.

“New information and new things can be intimidating, but once you jump into it, the only thing stopping you is yourself,” he said.

Tom Dominguez, spokesperson for ComEd, said MDI has a stronger focus on energy efficiency. He said this program, along with the other training programs that ComEd has developed are part of it meeting its ambitious goals, set by the state, to maintain or lower energy use. They need all the resources they can muster, outside the company, to help them meet that goal.

“As we’re expanding, we need folks out there like David, who have been trained in the knowledge of how to install these measures and how to implement them. And so, that’s why it’s great he found this program, and he’s able to help out, so he can help out folks, even in his own community, because energy efficiency is going to play a bigger role and we just need more people in those jobs to meet those goals,” he said.

For more information about ComEd’s Market Development Initiative training program, visit ComEd.com/MDI.


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