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Course 81 · Work course 34

Explore Skilled Trades and Green Careers

Compare trades and energy tasks, check simple quantities, and prepare informed questions about training and supervised practice.

Before you start

Create a paper notebook or a blank local document with six numbered sections; software and an online account are optional.

See everything you’ll need
What you’ll leave with

A comparison of trades and green careers, practice calculations, and questions to help you choose further training.

Start course Start without an account. Sign in to save lesson progress across devices.

Your project

Start with the practice files. Build your project one lesson at a time.

Practice files are free without an account. Sign in to save your project record in My Proof: a description, checklist, and optional work link. Keep the original files in your own app or notebook; saving a project record does not upload them.

  1. Get your materialsDownload the practice worksheetUse the downloadable worksheet or toolkit alongside the lesson instructions.
  2. Make your projectView the project checklist Work in your own notebook, document, or software. Use the supplied practice examples when you prefer.
  3. Keep a private recordSave a project record Sign in to save a description and checklist, then return to update them.
Course handbook

Know the route before you begin.

Here’s what you’ll need and what you’ll make. You can return to this guide during any lesson.

Who this is for

Learners 14+ investigating construction and energy occupations, including adults considering a career change.

Prepare before lesson one
  • Create a paper notebook or a blank local document with six numbered sections; software and an online account are optional.
  • Use the complete fictional organization, figures and task cards in each lesson; no real workplace access, personal records or outreach is needed.
  • Plan about 148 minutes of active reading and practice across six lessons; two lessons weekly provides three-week pacing. Copy each lesson output forward; an optional extra five minutes can test a second fictional case.
Your final project

Finish with proof you can use.

Collect and revise all six lesson outputs into a trades and green-career exploration plan. Include task comparisons, energy and quantity calculations, safety boundaries, and a learning plan with questions to verify. Label the plan as fictional practice.

Save a project record in My Proof
See project checklist and review criteria

Keep your working files in your own notebook or software. Save a private description, checklist, and work link in My Proof.

What to include

  • Map three occupations and at least two task interfaces.
  • Include the energy-flow and reduction calculations with assumptions.
  • Provide the paper work-order quantity check and missing-specification questions.
  • Show occupation-specific stop-and-refer boundaries.
  • Compare learning routes and assemble a safe next exploration plan.

Review and revise

Use these criteria to check your work and choose what to improve.

  • Accuracy: amounts, classifications and decisions agree with the supplied evidence and stated assumptions.
  • Reasoning: each important choice names the rule, observation or comparison that supports it.
  • Responsible scope: the packet protects information, respects authority limits and routes unresolved concerns appropriately.
  • Usability: a new reader can follow the ordered lesson outputs, identify ownership and see what is complete or still uncertain.
Three ideas to help you along the way
Three useful ideas

The rules behind the steps.

01

Understand the task before the title

Compare what occupations do and where their responsibilities meet.

02

Practice safely on paper

Build reasoning without attempting hazardous occupational tasks.

03

Verify the route

Separate exploration awards, supervised preparation and external authorization.

What do these words mean?
Key words

Key terms worth knowing.

Photovoltaic
Conversion of light into electrical energy using solar cells.
HVAC
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems and related occupational work.
Efficiency comparison
Comparison of input used for a specified useful service or output.
Specification
A stated requirement describing the intended work or result.
Occupational authorization
Permission based on applicable rules, qualifications and supervision for a task.
Your route

6 lessons.
One useful project.

Work in order the first time. Each lesson makes something the next lesson can use.

  1. 1
    Up next

    Compare construction and energy tasks

    Map electrician, solar-installer and HVAC work by tasks and interfaces.

  2. 2
    24 min

    Trace energy through a building improvement

    Distinguish generation, energy transfer and reduced waste using simple data.

  3. 3
    24 min

    Read dimensions and prepare a paper quantity check

    Interpret a fictional plan and calculate quantities without performing installation work.

  4. 4
    22 min

    Identify occupation-specific stop points

    Match hazardous task cards to a stop-and-refer boundary.

  5. 5
    28 min

    Compare a trades learning route and its requirements

    Distinguish exploration, technical study and supervised occupational preparation.

  6. 6
    28 min

    Complete your trades and green-career plan

    Use the task samples to choose a safe, evidence-based next learning experiment.

Use the tools

Tools to help you practice.

See all tools
Text worksheet

Your course project worksheet

A downloadable text worksheet with each lesson’s working output, space for your answers, and the shared final-project checklist. Save your own copy.

Source transparency

Sources and further study.

Explore the references behind the lessons and take your learning further. Source notes explain access and reuse.

BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Electricians
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10

Opened task, work-environment and preparation sections. Read apprenticeship and licensing variations and electrical, fall and burn hazards. No installation instructions or employment projections are reproduced.

Access: Free page readable without an account; optional further study only.

Reuse: Reference for original Life Starter instruction. Free access does not grant unrestricted reuse; no source exercises, logos or syllabi are copied. Check the source license before redistributing its material.

OpenStax, Rice University — Conservation of Energy
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10

Opened the specific section and reviewed energy transformations and the solar-cell example. Used for the course energy-flow and efficiency task, not as evidence of occupational qualifications.

Access: Free page readable without an account; optional further study only.

Reuse: Reference for original Life Starter instruction. Free access does not grant unrestricted reuse; no source exercises, logos or syllabi are copied. Check the source license before redistributing its material.

BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10

Opened the occupation profile and read system installation/maintenance duties and education context. Used for task comparison only; refrigerant, electrical and combustion work require verified qualifications beyond this course.

Access: Free page readable without an account; optional further study only.

Reuse: Reference for original Life Starter instruction. Free access does not grant unrestricted reuse; no source exercises, logos or syllabi are copied. Check the source license before redistributing its material.

BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Solar Photovoltaic Installers
Source & access notes · checked 2026-09-10

Opened duties and pathway sections. Read support-structure work, team coordination and location-dependent electrical connections. This is occupation exploration, not permission to install or connect equipment.

Access: Free page readable without an account; optional further study only.

Reuse: Reference for original Life Starter instruction. Free access does not grant unrestricted reuse; no source exercises, logos or syllabi are copied. Check the source license before redistributing its material.

Ready when you are

Start with the first useful move.

You’ll always know what to do, what to make, and where to go next.

Start lesson one