In the midst of economic turbulence, the application of renewable energy and energy-efficiency businesses can generate jobs and revenues.
In Connecticut, Executive Order No. 23 has established guidelines to train and develop "green-collar" workers to meet the needs of the multi-aspect business sector and attract new investments.
According to the ASES recent green-collar jobs report, trades and professions doing the energy-efficient conversion work can spawn 40 million green-collar jobs and $4.5 trillion in annual revenue by 2030.
Businesses products and services that directly improve environmental quality, include the following professions and trades: plumbers, HVAC technicians, engineers, architects, electricians, auto mechanics, energy-efficient appliance installers, manufacturers, chemists, landscapers and builders.
The Connecticut Technical High School System (CTHSS) is a statewide system of 17 degree-granting technical high schools and one technical education center, serving approximately 10,200 full-time high school students with comprehensive education and training in 37 occupational areas. Also served are some 5,500 part-time adult students.
Program relevance is ensured through "technology advisory committees and an aggressive response to the implementation of emerging technologies of the workplace."Efforts for adaptive energy education are already deployed in other states.
A crucial step is supportive efforts by education and business leaders to adapt the in-place workforce and grow more technicians.
According to the American Wind Energy Association, a Washington, D.C-based trade group, their industry employs about 20,000 people, not including those making turbines or other equipment. They need up to 800 technicians for turbines expected to be installed this year alone.
Highlights of Connecticut Executive Order No. 23, which takes effect immediately, include:
Commissioners of the Department of Economic and Community Development and the Department of Labor jointly plan for growth of green industries and identify those jobs that will qualify as “green jobs;”
The Connecticut Employment and Training Commission to create and chair a Green Collar Jobs Council, comprising the Departments of Education, Higher Education, Environmental Protection, Labor and Economic and Community Development, the Energy Workforce Development Consortium, and representatives of business and industry;
The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management to potentially re-allocate funds for existing job training to the new comprehensive 21st Century Green Jobs Training Initiative;
The Community College System to collaborate with its public and private partners, including the Energy Workforce Development Consortium, to expedite the creation of 8 certificate credit programs and training of 320 students within the next two years;
If permitted by federal law, allocate up to 25 percent of funding from federal stimulus package for green, shovel-ready projects;
Allowing the Department of Economic and Community Development to give priority to green energy projects when awarding grants from the Small Manufacturers Competitiveness Fund;
The Commissioner of the Department of Transportation to develop a plan to implement a green transportation corridor along interstate routes 91 and 95.
To see regional efforts or how Connecticut stacks up to other states in the U.S, visit the Pew Center for Global Climate Change.
Images, top, Vestas Wind Systems; center, Vinal Tech electrical department; lower, FDLTCC.
