SAN FRANCISCO – The Apollo Alliance released a series of reports in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin today that identify components of those states’ workforce development infrastructures that can be better integrated and scaled up to help fill jobs in the clean energy sector. Over the past decade, clean energy jobs have grown at more than twice the rate of overall jobs, according to a study released last June by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
The reports, Mapping Green Career Pathways: Job Training Opportunities and Infrastructure, recommend strengthening existing training infrastructures to build workers’ skills to fill green-collar jobs that are being created in construction and manufacturing, sectors which are projected to account for 55 percent of all new jobs in the emerging renewable energy and efficiency industries. Overall employment in construction and manufacturing declined sharply over the past decade and has been hard hit by the current economic downturn. Ohio lost 106,000 manufacturing jobs and 31,000 construction jobs last year; Michigan shed 94,000 manufacturing jobs and 31,000 construction jobs in 2009; and Wisconsin has lost more than 25 percent of its manufacturing jobs over the past decade.
Click here to read the reports.
“The demand for clean energy workers is real and will only grow as federal, regional and state climate and energy policies move forward,” said Elena Foshay, research associate for the Apollo Alliance and a co-author of the report. “However, for these states to take full advantage of this job creation potential, they will need workers whose skills match the needs of the employers and industries of the clean energy economy.”
Mapping Green Career Pathways identifies existing training programs that represent key elements of an integrated green workforce development system. According to the reports, many of the elements of a green training infrastructure already exist in each state, but there are still gaps along the green career pathway that must be filled through stronger, more integrated training programs. To meet the growing demand for workers in the clean energy economy, Mapping Green Career Pathways proposes a series of policy recommendations that include:
- Filling in gaps between existing training offerings through investments in programs such as high school career technical education and pre-apprenticeship training, rather than investing in new and sometimes unnecessary programs.
- Breaking down silos and better integrating environmental, economic and workforce goals at the federal, state and local levels, so that investments in new training programs are driven by actual job growth.
- Conditioning federal, state and local training grants and department of development funds on interagency collaboration, and prioritizing partnerships between training providers, unions, employers and Workforce Investment Boards.
- Investing in career pathway models that emphasize flexibility so workers can easily move in and out of classroom-based training and employment.
“What’s most important in Ohio is to develop green career pathways that help job seekers move from entry-level work into higher-paid, more specialized positions,” said Piet van Lier, researcher at Policy Matters and report co-author. “Every step along the pathway should be designed to prepare students for the next level of both employment and training.”
“This report identifies the clear opportunity for career pathways in the clean energy sector and outlines the elements of the capacity building which is needed to help workers, employers and policy-makers make this transition effectively,” said Jeannine LaPrad, CEO and president of Michigan-based Corporation for a Skilled Workforce. “The report reaffirms that for many employers and workers, re-training or up-skilling will be an important step in that transition.”
CONTACT: Sam Haswell: (415) 371-1700 x201
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The Apollo Alliance is a coalition of unlikely and diverse interests – including labor, business, environmental, and community leaders – advancing a bold vision for the next American economy centered on clean energy and good jobs.