For Immediate Release: Contact:
Sam Haswell, 415-371-1700 x201
Amber Taylor, 703-201-4893
March 8, 2010
Green Job Skills in Demand As Clean Energy Industries Boom
INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana’s surging clean-energy industry thrust new green jobs into the limelight today during a ceremony to certify the state’s first graduates of the Electrical Training Institute’s Indianapolis Electrical Apprenticeship program.
In receiving their certifications, the 14 “Green Technicians” displayed an array of solar panels and a wind turbine they recently installed at the Institute, examples of how their new skill-sets will be put to work in advancing the development of a clean energy economy. Among the featured guests at the ceremony, co-sponsored by the Apollo Alliance and IBEW Local 481, were U.S. Rep. André Carson (D-Ind.) and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Liz Shuler.
Shuler praised joint labor-management preparation of workers for a new generation of clean energy jobs. “It’s important that American workers stay at the cutting edge of green technology so they can access the high-quality jobs that are being created in the global clean energy economy,” she said. “The race is on to build a 21st century clean energy infrastructure, and the AFL-CIO continues to push for it to be nurtured here in the U.S. and built by American workers.”
The Indianapolis Electrical Apprenticeship program is a joint partnership between the National Electrical Contractors Association of Central Indiana, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local #481. In 2009, the Electrical Institute designed a program to train workers in alternative energies such as wind and solar.
“Each graduate of the Green Technician program will be an Industry Certified Technician, ready to work on anything from windmills to retrofits of existing buildings that need to become more energy efficient. We are incredibly proud of their achievement,” said Jim Patterson, director of the Electrical Training Institute.
The training is well timed, as Indiana is poised to become a leader in the clean energy field. Clean energy jobs in the state grew by a stunning 17.9 percent from 1998 to 2007, while overall jobs declined by 1 percent, according to a 2009 study by the Pew Charitable Trusts. Today, Indiana has more than 1,200 clean energy companies, which employ more than 17,000 people across the state.
Indiana’s First Green Technicians Graduate
The Apollo Alliance has worked closely with 13 unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO to develop strategies for federal investment in job growth in the clean energy economy and the manufacture of green technologies in the United States.
By a 2-1 margin (54 percent to 26 percent), Hoosiers believe that public and private investment in the manufacture of clean energy technologies can help revive the state’s economy and create jobs, according to a Research 2000 poll commissioned by the Apollo Alliance in February.
“Here in Indiana, we have a workforce that is ready to take advantage of expanding opportunities in the clean energy sector,” said Andrea Bazemore, Indiana State Coordinator for the Apollo Alliance. “The Apollo Alliance continues to call on Congress to pass a comprehensive climate and clean energy bill that boosts demand for clean energy and for the types of quality, long-term jobs we are talking about here today.”
The American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act, passed by the House in June 2009, would put a cap on carbon and establish a Renewable Energy Standard that will generate unprecedented demand for the components and systems of the clean energy economy.
Rep. Carson, a supporter of ACES, said clean energy is the key to renewed prosperity. “The type of training and work being celebrated here today is exactly what we had in mind when we passed clean energy legislation in the House,” he said. “If the Senate will join that effort, we can put clean energy on the fast track and rebuild America’s middle class on a foundation of new, well-paying green jobs.”
The American Clean Energy and Security Act would provide capital for small and mid-sized manufacturers to become more energy efficient and retool to expand into the clean energy supply chain. These investments will create or retain at least 680,000 direct manufacturing jobs and nearly 2 million more jobs in related industries over the next five years.
For more on the Apollo Alliance, visit apolloalliance.org. To learn more about the Electrical Training Institute’s Electrical Apprenticeship program, visit www.iejatc.com.
###
The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of labor, business, environmental, and community leaders working to catalyze a clean energy revolution that will put millions of Americans to work in a new generation of high-quality, green-collar jobs