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The Future is Green!. What are green jobs? Why are they important?. Lorraine Faulds Training & Development Director I SC Employment Security Commission. Why the interest in green jobs? $$$$ . Green Jobs Act of 2007: $125 million a year for national and state training programs—never funded.
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The Future is Green! What are green jobs? Why are they important? Lorraine Faulds Training & Development Director I SC Employment Security Commission
Green Jobs Act of 2007:$125 million a year for national and state training programs—never funded
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009$50 BILLIONBroken down into two areas: Energy Efficiency (EE) and Renewable Energy (RE)
Goals of the ARRA:wDouble the capacity of alternative energy over the next 3 yearswWeatherize 1 million homeswRetrofit 75% of federal buildingswBuild 3,000 miles of transmission lines
EE gets $36.5 Billion, RE gets $8 Billionw$5 Billion to weatherize homes of one million low-income familiesw$6.3 Billion for energy-related grants to the statesw$4.5 Billion to retrofit federal buildingsw$11 Billion to modernize the nation’s electrical grid
In SC…Total of $160 millionw$9 million for trainingw$41 million for local governments for energy conservation projectsw$6 million for rebates on energy-efficient appliancesw$58 million weatherizationw$50 million to make government buildings (state offices, schools, colleges) more energy efficient
Green Jobs Estimate= 460,000 jobs(nationally)wNeed to offset loses, especially in construction and manufacturingwOne job lost means up to 20 jobs lost in indirect effects (Economic Modeling Specialists)wDuring good times, these displaced workers would transition to a similar job in the same industry. But in times like these (where there are no other similar opportunities), retraining is the only option.
MANY definitionswA blue-collar job, upgraded to better respect the environment (Van Jones, founder of Green For All)w“Greener” versions of existing occupationswA traditional job with a layer of greenwJobs that involve protecting wildlife or ecosystems, reducing pollution or waste, or reducing energy usage and lowering carbon emissions.
SC is working toward developing a definition SC Employment Security Commission SC Department of Commerce South Carolina Energy Office SC Technical College System
The basis for the definition is…Any activity or service that performs at least one of the following:wGenerating renewable energywRecycling existing materialswEnergy efficient product manufacturing, construction, installation, and maintenancewEducation, compliance, conservation, and awarenesswNatural and sustainable product manufacturing
Did you notice?wGenerating renewable energywRecycling existing materialswEnergy efficient product manufacturing, construction, installation, and maintenancewEducation, compliance, conservation, and awarenesswNatural and sustainable product manufacturing
It can get confusing…See the glossary handout for help with unfamiliar terms.
Energy Efficiency: It’s not just about putting on a sweater and turning off the lights!wGreen new constructionwBuilding Retrofitting/WeatherizationwMass TransitwSmart Grid
Renewable Energy: Lots of up-front investment (i.e. manufacturing); we currently get only 2.4% of our energy from renewable resources; President Obama wants it up to 25%wWindwSolarwGeothermalwHydropowerwNuclearwHydrogenwClean/low emission coalwNatural gaswBiofuels (also called biomass)
A Word about Nuclear Energy… In some places, nuclear energy is not considered a clean, renewable energy source because it creates hazardous waste and uses a non-renewable resource (uranium).It is in SC! It produces 51.2% of the state’s electricity.
Occupationsw “Work in progress” list done by the Department of CommercewBased on other state definitions and listsw137 occupations in 16 industriesSee handout!
IndustriesInitially…Construction, Installation, Maintenance (based on funding)
Top 4 industries with the most occupations on the list are…wLife, Physical, and Social Sciences (23 occupations)wConstruction and Extraction (20)wArchitecture and Engineering (19)wProduction (i.e. manufacturing) (19)
Employment in Green JobsOccupations with the most employment in 2008:wTeam Assemblers = 36,580wLaborers & Freight , Stock and Material Movers = 34,700wCustomer Service Representatives = 30,150wMaintenance & Repair Workers = 26,390wTruck Drivers, Heavy & Tractor Trailer = 23,160
Employment in Green JobsOccupations with the least employment in 2008:Miscellaneous Agricultural Workers (40)Power Distributors and Dispatchers (40)Soil and Plant Scientists (40)
Wages for Green JobsAverage hourly wages in 2008 for green jobs in South Carolina ranged from $45.25 for Nuclear Engineers to $8.00 for Agricultural Product Graders and Sorters.
Wages for Green JobsTop 5 Green Jobs by 2008 Average Hourly Wage:wAir Traffic Controller = $51.97*wNuclear Engineer = $45.25wComputer & Information Scientists = $44.08wSales Engineers = $41.05wChemical Engineers = $40.33wElectrical Engineers = $38.86
Career ClusterswManufacturing (29 occs)wArchitecture and Construction (28)wScience, Technology, Engineering and Math (24)See handout!
Skills Needed Ten Competencies Needed to Be Successful in Environmental Work1.Communication skills 2. Collaboration, bridge-building abilities 3. “Customer” orientation 4. Creativity/innovative thinking 5. Broad environmental sciences understanding 6. Analytical ability, critical thinking, problem-solving 7. Work orientation, professionalism, positive attitude 8. Occupation-specific skills and knowledge 9. Mastery of information technology 10. Leadership ability From Remake a Living: Defining the Environmental Workforce by Kevin Doyle
National CredentialsThe Association of Energy Engineers: facilities managers, HVAC installers, geothermal certificationsThe North American Board of Energy Practitioners: photovoltaic (solar) installers and photovoltaic techniciansThe Building Performance Institute: building analysts, HVAC; required for Energy Star contractorsSolar Energy International: Renewable energy certificationsThe Green Building Certification Institute: Runs the Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) Accredited Professionals Program for green management and facilities management fields
Education LevelsBack to the list…wOJT: 72 occupations (15 short, 33 moderate, 24 long-term)wBachelor’s Degree: 32wAssociate’s Degree: 12
Training in High School“We’re not going to be able to build anything and do any green retrofits until we have the workforce to do that. If we wait until they are out of high school to start training them, we’re going to lose a lot of people.” Jay Hansen, Legislative and Political Director for California’s State Building and Construction Trades Council
Green High SchoolsSouth Tahoe High School’s Green Academy (CA): Expose students to green construction, auto mechanics, and technologyAiken University High School (OH): Environmental sciences program including ECO-nomics (looks at economics and how the market place can effect the environment); college credit offeredEnvironmental Charter High School (CA): Green Action Curriculum, Green Ambassador program, Senior Seminar environmental project, Earth Day Educational FestivalConferences: Green Building Expo (MA), Agricultural Ecology (IL), Energy Career Day (CO)
Current programs can have a “green” element added:wConstruction trades: Electrician, Plumber, HVACwCulinary trades: Organic farming, compostingwAutomotive: Hybrid and electric powered-vehicles
Examples of Tech School ProgramsBiotechnology at Greenville TechAdvanced Agriculture Certificate (includes sustainable agriculture) at Piedmont TechEnvironmental Engineering Technology at Central Carolina TechContinuing Education:Trident Tech: Home Energy Rating Field Inspector Greenville Tech: Fundamentals of Solar Hot Water Heating, Photovoltaic System Design, Weatherization Energy Auditor, Green BuildingMidlands Tech: Alternative Energy Operations, Energy-Efficient Design for Architects, Green Building for Contractors, Photovoltaic System Design and Installation
Teacher ToolsGreen-Collar Jobs Campaign Teaching Tools: For HS, 5-part series exploring the green economy, eco-equality, model cities, and restorative justice. (Go to www.ellabakercenter.org)Rainforest Action Network: For MS and HS, 5-parts including Green My School, Green My Ride, Soy What?, No New Coal, Old Growth Forests; also Global Warming (used with Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth movie), Reclaim the Future (Go to http://ran.org/new/ryse/educators.)
Teacher Tools(con’t.)Going To Green Environmental Education Curriculum (based on the PBS Series Edens Lost and Found): For HS, video and text series on sustainability, community and environmental awareness (20 different topics), Sample unit at www.mediapolicycenter.org.Green Teacher magazine and Teaching Green book series: Go to www.greenteacher.com.SC Energy Office: Energy 2 Learn lesson plans, Energy Fact Sheets, link to US Department of Energy’s Kids Page (Go to www.energy.sc.gov.)
The FuturewBiotechnologywNanotechnologywEntrepreneurship: Recessions are a sort of “cold shower” that wakes you up to the fact that things need to change. “Well, I have nothing to lose now. I can do what I’ve always wanted to do.”
The Crystal BallThe US Conference of Mayors said an economy that shifts to generating 40 percent of its electricity from wind, solar, biomass, and other fuels will generate 4.2 million green jobs by 2038. The Apollo Alliance coalition of environmentalists and business leaders says a $500 billion investment over the next 10 years will create 5 million green-collar jobs. According to a study from the Blue-Green Alliance and the Renewable Energy Policy Project, requiring that 20% of our electricity come from renewable sources by 2020 would create 820,000 jobs across the country.
Thanks for your interest in green jobs! Lorraine Faulds Training & Development Director I SC Employment Security Commission lfaulds@sces.org 803-737-2714