Arlington, Va. — The Associated General Contractors of America has unveiled a new green construction education program designed to make it easier to build and renovate green, LEED-certified buildings. The new program, called Building to LEED for New Construction, Second Edition, is designed to help contractors, designers and developers successfully navigate the green building certification process and keep their green accreditations current.

“Green building is rapidly changing from a niche market to the industry norm,” said Stephen E. Sandherr, the association’s chief executive officer. “Within a short time, the ability to master the complexities of green construction and certification will be essential to succeeding as a building contractor.”

Sandherr said the association developed Building to LEED to meet the growing demand for green construction and design experts. He noted that the number of green buildings under construction is expected to grow by an estimated 25 percent by 2013. As a result, anyone involved in building construction will need to complete a course like the association’s new program to be successful, the association head added.

The program includes instructor guides and participant manuals for use during the program’s one-day class. In addition to learning green construction and design skills, people taking the class will earn 7.5 continuing education credits that can apply to maintaining LEED certification.

Anyone can order the program, which is designed to be used by construction firms, community colleges, joint-apprenticeship training programs and construction association chapters, among other groups. Visit www.agc.org/green for more information.