Breaking
news
Governor
launches CA Green Economy Survey -
In May 2009, EDD's Labor Market Information Division launched the Green Economy Survey in collaboration with the
Labor and Workforce Development Agency, Economic Strategy Panel, California
Workforce Investment Board, Air Resources Board, Community Colleges Centers of
Excellence, and the California Energy Commission. The Survey was mailed to a random stratified sample of 51,100 California
employers representing all industries, size classes, and counties.
Survey Objectives:
- Obtain an estimate of the current number of green jobs in California
- Identify the current and changing business practices that are helping
California to achieve a cleaner, more sustainable environment, in terms of
both producers and users of green or sustainable technology/energy
- Identify the occupations that are emerging in our movement toward a more
green economy
- Identify resources and strategies to assist businesses in cutting costs by
reducing energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions
For more information contact: 1-888-282-1395
Governor
Schwarzenegger Launches the California Green Corps
- Immediately after meeting with President Obama’s Secretary of Labor Hilda
Solis in Sacramento to discuss federal economic stimulus funding and job
creation, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today launched the California Green
Corps. Building up communities and the state’s green workforce, the California
Green Corps will place at-risk young adults aged 16-24 into jobs in
California’s emerging green economy.
What is a green
job?
There are no commonly agreed upon definitions for green jobs or green
industries. The following links provide some possible definitions.
Index
of Definitions of Green - A listing of the definitions cited in publications listed in the Index
to the Digest of Green Reports and Studies maintained by EDD's Labor
Market and Information Division.
San Diego Union-Tribune, May
2009 - This article discusses various ways to
define green jobs, and features the San Diego Workforce
Partnership.
"Green
jobs typically deal with reducing pollution or conserving resources. They are
sometimes broken into two parts: engineers and scientists who create new
technologies, and technicians who put new methods or products into use. The sectors include renewable energy, low-impact construction, biofuels,
“clean transportation,” environmental compliance and conservation-minded
water and waste management. In many cases, people have been doing green work for
years without getting the label."
Occupational information
on green jobs:
Energy
Efficiency Occupations, Bay Region March 2009 - The Centers for
Excellence
(COE) of the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development
Program produced an environmental scan of eight energy efficiency
occupations for the San Francisco Bay Region, which included an employer survey
to understand projected demand in these occupations. Two emerging occupations -
energy auditor/home energy rater and building performance/retrofitting
specialist - are projected to experience significant growth over the next three
years. The majority of employers are also having difficulty hiring
qualified candidates in all eight occupations.
Green
Industries and Jobs in CA, January 2009 - The Centers for Excellence
(COE) of the California Community Colleges Economic and Workforce Development
Program conducted a study of the green economy and green jobs in the
state. This first phase of their study provides a comprehensive crosswalk
between green clusters, industries, occupations, and college programs.
This report highlights a number of occupations which may warrant special
attention from community colleges in California.
Green
Jobs Guidebook 08-09 – This guidebook provides profiles of 200 green jobs
currently in CA, details on 45 job types for high school graduates, information
on job training and placement programs, and listings of apprenticeship and
community college programs. The guidebook includes job descriptions, salary
information, minimum education requirements, potential certifications, employer
types, and job market growth potential.
Greener
Pathways: Jobs and Workforce Development in the Clean Energy Economy
- Center on Wisconsin
Strategy. This 2008 report examines the energy
efficiency, biofuels, and wind industries, within the context of regional,
sector-based economic development; the role of workforce intermediaries and
labor market data; and demand-driven career pathways.
Index
to the Digest of Green Reports and Studies
- EDD's Labor Market Information Division maintains this index.
To encourage the discussion on how green technology affects the workplace and
economy, a consortium of local, state, and federal entities is currently
reviewing "green" literature to create a "Digest of Green Reports
and Studies." As reports and studies are identified, participants
review the reports and prepare brief summaries including contents, methodology, and author.
Links to the summary and to the original study are then added to the Index.
Analyses of
Green Occupations and Industries - EDD's Labor Market Information Division
uses this site to provide an overview of resources, including green job surveys
in other states, definitions of "green," summaries of green industries
and occupations identified in their Green Digest (see above).
California Green Innovation Index, 2009
- Next Ten, a nonpartisan nonprofit, produced this report. See pages 70-71
for a breakdown of jobs in energy efficiency (highest percentage - energy
conservation consultant, 29%), and energy generation (highest percentage -
solar, 63%), as well as green jobs by establishment type (services 54%;
manufacturing, 20%).
Additional
tools:
How
to Find a Green Collar Job - Apollo Alliance resource for job
seekers.
Green Recovery for
All Toolkit –
political action toolkit to lobby for using stimulus funds to assist low income
individuals.
Green Jobs
& What
America’s Federal Workforce Investment System Can Do Now to Develop a Green
Workforce An Article for Federal Workforce Investment
Policymakers & Practitioners by
Robert T. Mejia. Includes policy recommendations for local workforce
development organizations, summer youth employment programs, and the federal
workforce investment system.
Renewable
Energy Businesses in CA - listings of businesses by product type,
type of business, and business name. This information can also be searched
for other states
and locations.
Highlights
of happenings around the
state:
CWA Green Jobs
Matrix - summary of local efforts around the state, last updated
January 2009.
California’s
Green Workforce Coalition - The South
Bay WIB spearheaded the development of the Coalition, whose mission is to
serve as an alliance for the development of a skilled green workforce and a
sustainable future. The Coalition now has 86 members from the public,
non-profit and educational sectors and an “industry intelligence group.”
There are also 38 other organizations that have attended their regular meetings
since early 2008. They include a wide variety of workforce and education
stakeholders in the region. Click here for a power
point presentation on the Coalition.
Oakland
Green Job Corps - The Oakland Green Job Corps
provides training to prepare young adults in Oakland for green collar
careers. The program aims to provide "green pathways out of
poverty" by recruiting people with barriers to employment (lack of job
skills, lack of education, language/cultural barriers, history with
juvenile/criminal justice system). The program also works to create partnerships
between job training programs and green employers. The City of Oakland
provided $250,000 in seed money. The first cohort graduated in June,
2009. To read more about the training component provided by the Cypress
Mandela Training Center, click here.
RichmondBUILD
- RichmondBUILD
is a pre-apprenticeship construction skills and solar installation training
program. Established in May, 2007, this program has already
received national and international attention as an exemplary green collar job
training program. Click here to see a
video
about the program. The
program was designed as a violence reduction strategy, in alignment with the
priorities of the City of Richmond.
Richmond is ranked as the number one most violent city per capita in California,
and has a high school drop out rate of 50-60%. Graduates of this program,
however, have a 90% placement rate and the average starting salary is $18.31 per
hour. Organizers
say that strong partnerships are critical to running this program. The
only WIA funding is 15% money - the OJTs are paid for with private dollars so
that they are free from regulatory constraints. The Housing
Authority donated the training facility where each class builds an 800
square foot structure, Solar
Richmond identifies the homeowners for the "live" solar panel
installations, and employers are helping to provide instructors, corporate
sponsorships, and post-training jobs. A private employer has committed
millions of dollars of funding over the next 6 years.
Silicon Valley Industry Driven Regional Collaborative
- This collaborative is
a strategic regional response to meet the need for a skilled workforce in
photovoltaic solar system design and installation. In
addition to NOVA's and Work2Future's green-for-all efforts connecting job
seekers with training, the Solar-Industry-Driven Regional Collaborative (Solar
IDRC) has co-created a community college curriculum in photovoltaic design and
installation. Its members include NOVA and Work2Future,
SolarTech, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, as well as the area's six
community colleges. The
collaborative's solar panel–installation class is offered at Ohlone, San Jose
City College and Cabrillo College in Aptos. To read an article about it, click here.
Apollo
Alliance: Signature Stories
– highlights best practices and stories around the country.
Green for
All: People and Programs
– highlights best practices and stories around the country.
ARRA related information:
Recovery.gov
- the main federal ARRA website. Provides news updates and information on
funding by agency and by state.
CA
Recovery site - the state's ARRA website. Includes a summary
of workforce related funding, as well as daily updates, a map of stimulus
projects, and information on grants, deadlines, and state contracts.
US
Department of Energy Recovery site - includes a summary
of the $1 billion in funding allocated to CA, the largest portion of which is
going to the Energy Efficiency and
Conservation Block Grant Program. The funding will
support energy audits and energy efficiency retrofits in residential and
commercial buildings, the development and implementation of advanced building
codes and inspections, and the creation of financial incentive programs for
energy efficiency improvements. Other activities eligible for use of grant funds
include transportation programs that conserve energy, projects to reduce and
capture methane and other greenhouse gas emissions from landfills, renewable
energy installations on government buildings, energy efficient traffic signals
and street lights, deployment of Combined Heat and Power and district heating
and cooling systems, and others.
To ensure
accountability, the Department of Energy will provide guidance to and require
grant recipients to report on the number of jobs created or retained, energy
saved, renewable energy capacity installed, greenhouse gas emissions reduced,
and funds leveraged. Funding is based on a formula that accounts for
population and energy use.
US
Department of Education Recovery site - Under the ARRA, $540 million is provided for the
Vocational Rehabilitation State
Grants program - $56 million to CA. Click
here for a fact
sheet on Voc Rehab and ARRA.
US
Department of Heath and Human Services Recovery site - The
ARRA provides for $1 billion in additional
funds to the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) program for Federal Fiscal
Year 2009. As with regularly appropriated CSBG funds, Recovery Act
funds may be used for the reduction of poverty, the revitalization of low-income
communities, and the empowerment of low-income families and individuals in rural
and urban areas to become fully self-sufficient. Under the regular CSBG program, eligible entities use funds
to provide services and activities addressing employment, education, better use
of available income, housing, nutrition, emergency services and/or health to
combat the central causes of poverty. Such services continue to be
supportable under the CSBG Recovery Act fund. However, consistent with the
intent of the Recovery Act, States and eligible entities are expected to focus
assistance provided with Recovery Act Funds on activities geared towards the
preservation and creation of jobs to promote economic recovery and the provision
of assistance to those most impacted by the recession. Short-term and
long-term services and activities should be directed towards innovative projects
that help targeted populations to achieve economic self-sufficiency for the
long-term. $89.15 million is available for
CA for CSBG.
State
Opportunities Under the ARRA: Energy and Green Jobs Programs -
National Governors Association, Center for Best Practices. Last updated
Feb. 26, 2009, this paper outlines issues that should be considered at the
governor's level to maximize the benefits of ARRA funding. Page 3 contains
a nice flowchart which provides an overview of the funding for energy and green
jobs program, which is followed by narrative summaries of each of those
programs. For more information contact: Sue Gander at sgander@nga.org
or 202.624.7740
Legislation
"Green" Legislation
- Enacted
or Currently Proposed
- EDD maintains this list of "green" state Assembly
and Senate bills. Information is also available for legislation in
Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Washington, and nationally.
Other
interesting articles
Training
for Change: CA's Workforce Investment Boards to Reap Windfall
- by Raquel Palmese, Green Technology Magazine. This article details the
role of WIBs in green workforce development, highlighting the South Bay WIB and
their work in setting up the California Green Workforce Coalition.
Youth
to See Green With Jobs in California - by Paige Donner, Huffington
Post. This May 6, 2009 article details Los Angeles' summer youth
employment program.
