Austin jobs created in green energy

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Are you looking for a "green job" or any job for that matter? You might have some luck from a new city ordinance requiring home energy audits. That ordinance is creating an increased demand for home energy auditors. The new auditors are needed to inspect anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 homes per year, according to Austin Energy.

The Austin City Council passed a law in 2008 requiring all homes sold on the market more than 10 years old to undergo a residential energy audit, much like an inspection done for needed repairs. Auditors will look for anything from leaky ducts to unsealed windows and present both the homebuyer and seller with a disclosure form.

"We did some research and we found out no one was doing the classes to get the auditors prepared," said Wayne Morgan, owner of the Austin Institute of Real Estate. "There's a lot of work. There's a lot of energy to save."

Morgan already has more than 30 people signed up for classes to teach the energy auditors. Many are current home inspectors, but others, he said are recently out of work looking for a new career.

"[I] quit my job for the oil and gas industry to work for a non-profit on the East side," said Brady Zaitoon, a student in the Green Energy Audit Class at the Austin Institute of Real Estate.

Now Zaitoon is hedging his bets on the latest energy tools for a full-time job. "Full time would be the ideal situation," he said. "So I guess the sky's the limit."

"If you've just been laid off and you're looking for work," I think there's going to be a lot of work out there because there are a lot of homes that are going to be audited," said Morgan.

The class at the Austin Institute of Real Estate costs just more than $1,600 plus equipment. Yet Morgan said auditors will be able to make that back within 10 audits.

Home owners are required to get the audits before they close on their home beginning June 1. There are a few exceptions for those homeowners that have worked with Austin Energy through rebate programs.

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