The Energy Friendly Homes On-the-Job Training (OJT) Program is a workforce development program funded by the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF). The program places workers into a 12-month training plan with participating Program Contractors. Workers build hands-on skills in home performance energy efficiency trades, including HVAC, weatherization, heat pump water heater installation, and whole-home energy upgrades.
Workers become employed by the Program Contractor while participating in OTJ training and will receive wages. In addition, the program pays both the worker and the contractor a grant.
Workers earn $1,000 at each three-month milestone, up to $4,000 for a full 12-month track. Payments are made directly to the worker after each milestone is completed and approved. As a worker, you are employed to contractors who participate in the Energy Friendly Homes Program.
Contractors earn a maximum of $4,000 for each worker, with $1,000 distributed when the worker meets each milestone at three, six, nine, and 12 months.
Questions? Contact us at OJT@EnergyFriendlyHomes.com
Fall 2026, Open Enrollment
Winter 2026, On-boarding and Matching Process
January 1, 2027, First Quarter Starts
Ongoing Quarterly Enrollment
Workers entering the OJT Program may not have been employed by a participating Program Contractor or sub-contractor for more than three months prior to enrollment and may not have prior paid work experience in the specific training area in which they are enrolling.
Graduates from from a PCEF-funded approved pre-apprenticeship program (Oregon Tradeswomen, Portland Youth Builders (PYB), Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (POIC), and Constructing Hope) are prioritized. All other applicants are encouraged to apply, and applications are reviewed in the order they are received.
As an approved worker, you work as an employee of a Program Contractor, earn PCEF minimum wages, gain hands-on experience in home energy upgrades, and receive a Training Grant for successfully reaching each program milestone. The program team supports you throughout this process.
Not sure whether you want to apply yet? Learn more by filling out this interest form, and we’ll contact you to answer your questions.
Language Access
Language assistance is available upon request. Languages spoken by our program contractors include English, Spanish, Mandarin, Russian, Sinhalese, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
Here’s what to expect from the day you apply to the time you complete your training track.
Fill out the worker application to tell us about your experience, interests, and preferred track length. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis each three-month period.
The program team checks your eligibility. If you’re approved, you move forward. If not, you’re notified why, and you’re welcome to re-apply in the following quarter after meeting the eligibility requirements.
Once approved, you’re invited to tour a jobsite and see the work up close. It’s a chance for you and the contractor to see if the partnership is a good fit.
If it’s a good fit on both sides, the program matches you with a contractor-employer and confirms your training track: three, six, nine, or 12 months.
You review and sign the Terms and Conditions, and the contractor completes their hiring process. You become their employee and earn a wage from day one.
You attend a one-time, required session that walks you through program expectations, safety, and how your training will work. You are also added to the program’s communication channel.
You work on funded projects, build hands-on skills and work tasks, and log your hours. Your mentor signs off on your progress. At each three-month milestone, you earn a grant payment on top of your wages.
When you finish your training track, your completion is confirmed, and your milestone grant is paid. You finish with real experience and skills in home performance energy efficiency.
Grant paymentYou earn the PCEF minimum wage requirement in addition to $1,000 at each three-month milestone, up to $4,000 for a full 12-month track. Payments are made directly to you after each milestone is completed and approved.
Contractors must be an existing participating contractor in the Energy Friendly Homes Program, and able. The contractor must adhere to all other terms and conditions in the Energy Friendly Homes Contractor Handbook and Contractor Participation Agreement, including paying each worker the PCEF minimum wage requirement.
For each worker, contractors earn a maximum of $4,000 per quarter for their business when the worker meets each milestone at three, six, nine, and 12 months.
Questions? Contact us at OJT@EnergyFriendlyHomes.com
