The Water Environment Federation and partners, including MWRDGC, created the National Green Infrastructure Certification Program to grow a green workforce. The program trains entry-level workers in the base-level skillset needed to properly construct, inspect, and maintain green infrastructure. With this training, candidates are qualified to enter the field and earn a living wage. Designed to meet international best practice standards, NGICP can meet a wide range of needs, including providing professional development for green infrastructure professionals.
In 2018, Parkland College in Champaign signed a contract with WEF to become the first licensed training center in Illinois, and the first community college in the nation to offer NGICP. This training consists of 35 hours focused on green infrastructure construction, functionality, and maintenance. Parkland offers the course regularly and additional sections are offered in response to the specific needs of organizations and industries.
Since 2018, Parkland has administered four successful trainings and trained over 45 individuals from municipalities, private industry, higher education, nonprofit, and professional organizations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the training was migrated to fully online; unfortunately, most of the offered trainings were canceled due to lack of enrollment and challenges associated with the successful transfer of the NGICP program from WEF to Envirocert International (ECI).In March 2023, we were able to offer a virtual training for 10 students. Students watched videos, did activities, did field work, and took practice quizzes asynchronously, and we met virtually for 2 hours each week for a month. The work equated to 38 hours of training.
A small, but successful one-day green infrastructure workforce development training was held in the Chicago area in March 2020, thanks to a large group effort. The second portion of this training was delivered in person in June 2021 in the Chicago area. Partners included Calumet Stormwater Collaborative, Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, Coastal Management Program, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, University of Illinois Extension, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, Parkland College’s NGICP Training Center, and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Prairie Research Institute. Opportunity, Advancement, and Innovation in Workforce Development spearheaded the training, but due to funding losses and complications caused by COVID-19, Chicago Regional Trees Initiative from the Morton Arboretum has assumed the leadership of future offerings.
Going forward, Parkland faculty are involved in the Curriculum Committee to rewrite the NGICP curriculum for ECI standards. The Parkland College NGICP Training Center hopes to offer a minimum of 2 to 3 trainings each year. For more information, see ngicp.org.
