[slickr-flickr tag="REDY" id="63520439@N05" caption="no"]

I am not a huge fan of acronyms, but REDY (Reducing Energy Demand with Youth) is pretty cool. Let’s Get REDY; REDY, Set, Go; REDY or Not…well you get the picture. But what makes REDY really cool is a lot more than how well it works in those phrases. This green jobs youth training, just wrapping up in London after successful sessions in Toronto and Kingston, is one of those great ideas that connect all the dots. Those dots are youth unemployment, energy poverty, building retrofits and green jobs.

What’s a Green Job?

The idea of green jobs is relatively new and is used in different ways so it may be helpful to start off with a bit of a discussion of what a green job means.

A green job is any job whose primary intention minimizes environmental impact. It can be a service job or it can also be related to a manufacturing process or a product. It is a job that releases fewer toxic emissions, reduces waste, promotes alternatives to fossil fuels, conserves energy or maybe does all of those things together. A green job includes both new technologies and new ways of thinking about old technologies.

Buildings Contribute 50% of GHG Emissions

For the REDY program the green jobs training focused on building retrofit work. Why? Here is where the connection between the dots really starts to happen. Buildings in Canada contribute about 50% of all greenhouse gas emissions so there is both need and opportunity to conserve energy and lower the environmental impact. In addition, more than 15% of Ontarians live in apartments that are among the least energy efficient. Retrofit work that is designed to conserve energy also contributes to building longevity, reduced utility bills, improved resident comfort and lower maintenance demands. It is considered one of the best ways to improve economic, social and environmental well-being.

Youth Unemployment is 2x National Average

One final statistic that I want to mention is that currently youth unemployment in Canada is about twice the national average at just over 14%. This leads to another connection: and that is to train youth to be part of the solution. Training and hiring youth in the evolving green jobs sector is the perfect opportunity to engage youth in sustainable, valuable work that’s good for the economy and the social fabric of our communities.

The Youth Participants

Working with our fantastic community partners from the Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres and our training partner, Housing Solutions Inc., 60 youth participants have already completed the REDY program. The participants have come from a variety of backgrounds and interests and have been inspired to use this entry level opportunity to identify their next steps whether that is employment, or further education or training. All participants have been enthusiastic about the opportunities in this sector and the knowledge that they are part of the green revolution. And that leads us to the final connection: we also need to have businesses provide job opportunities for these REDY graduates. Businesses have a lot to gain too; from the positive outcomes of green retrofit work to employing trained, enthusiastic youth who can do the job, not to mention access to training incentives.

Be REDY

So here it is; my last play on words. Be REDY for the future. Start the conversation about how you and your residents can go green; implement a green office policy, consider a long range green retrofit plan, write a youth hiring policy, participate in GLOBE’s Community Champion program or hire a REDY graduate. There are lots of ways for you to get involved.

You can also go to the upcoming OMSSA conference to hear Keir Brownstone, General Manager of GLOBE discussing REDY as part of a panel discussion on

Housing Careers as a Pathway out of Poverty
Wednesday, June 8 – 9:30 to 11:00 am

Call us today at 1.877.733.SHSC (7472) and ask about hiring a REDY (Reducing Energy Demand with Youth) graduate