If you want to turbo-charge your real estate career, getting Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) training is the smartest choice you can make. LEED accreditation will deepen your knowledge of sustainability, make you more marketable to employers and show your commitment to a more efficient, eco-friendly real estate world.
Developed by the USGBC, LEED is gaining a lot of traction globally. Many high-profile skyscrapers are LEED-certified, including the Empire State Building.
With quality training, you can dive into industry-specific innovation, network with classmates and instructors and get the knowledge to pass certification exams. All of us work and/or live in buildings. Imagine if they were all designed with efficiency in mind. We'd save clients money and have a much milder impact on our environment.
That's what we're out to do. My company, CleanEdison, offers green-collar job training. Real estate professionals can choose from four types of LEED training and exam prep courses, as well CleanEdison's LEED AP Credentialing Maintenance and LEED Project Experience programs, aimed at everyone from architects and real estate agents to construction managers and interior decorators.
In our LEED Green Associate class, students learn what makes sites sustainable and how to be energy efficient. In LEED AP (Accredited Professional), students can choose from several specialties. For example, LEED AP O&M (Operations and Maintenance) trains students on green building operations and improvements. LEED Project Experience gives students hands-on skills required for the exam. You can even get started on this career path without past experience.
Why are these classes critical for today's real estate professionals?
1. Renters prefer green apartments over inefficient ones that don't conserve energy.
2. Get the get the maximum potential out of employees, since green offices result in higher levels of productivity.
3. LEED certification, either for your building or employees, shows you are pro-environment and care about our planet.
4. LEED professionals are in demand, from design firms to government RPFs.
5. Classes give you the lowdown on hot industry trends.
6. In 2011, there were over 40,000 building projects that had submitted or were in the process of submitting for LEED Certification - only LEED-certified professionals can be a part of these exciting projects.
Hopefully, all buildings will be LEED certified in the future. Get trained now, and you can be an early adopter and influencer in the industry of tomorrow.
Avi Yashchin is the founder and CEO of CleanEdison, Inc., New York, N.Y.