Governor
M. Jodi Rell today announced the state will receive $3.36 million in federal
stimulus funds to help train and educate the state’s “green collar”
workforce for careers in emerging renewable and clean energy industries.
The funds will support programs developed and
coordinated by the Connecticut Green Jobs Partnership, a public-private
labor and education consortium, created by the Governor’s Executive Order No
23.
“The opportunities for economic and job
growth in energy sector “green” industries are limitless,” Governor Rell
said. “Connecticut continues to move
forward in creating a vibrant workforce for the future, one that will
attract new, new industries and will have the education and training in
place to provide the skills needed.”
The state received the grant from the U.S.
Department of Labor through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of
2009 (ARRA). Nearly $190 million in job training grants was awarded
nationwide for energy sector job training and education.
The federal award will help the state pursue
several key “green workforce” goals including:
-
Upgrading skills of displaced workers or
those who jobs have been outsourced
-
Developing seamless set of pathways in
green industries
-
Connecting green workforce development to
related economic development efforts
-
Ensuring education curriculum and training
capacity match needs of energy sector employers, focusing on four
occupations and industries with growth potential:
-
Building Analyst (Target
Industry: Energy Efficiency Assessment)
-
Green Manufacturing
(Manufacturers using Environmentally Sustainable Processes and
Materials)
-
Clean Water Technician
(Environmental Protection)
-
Green Technology Training
for Municipal Building Officials (Energy Efficiency Assessment
Industry)
“Achieving the Partnership’s workforce
development goals will help realize Governor Rell’s overall Energy Vision of
lowering prices for consumers, becoming less reliant on foreign energy,
fostering the use of environmentally sound technology and making the state a
center for economic development and technological innovation in the energy
sector,” said Mary Ann Hanley, from the Office for Workforce Competitiveness
and a member of the Green Jobs Partnership.
In November,
Connecticut was included in a $3.9 million federal
stimulus grant to develop a “Green Job Bank” with seven other Northeastern
states to serve as a comprehensive clearing house for careers in
environmental technologies and training and educational opportunities.
Under Governor Rell’s leadership,
Connecticut was one of the first states to
develop a climate change action plan, create and participate in a regional
auction to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and push for cleaner tailpipe
exhaust from automobiles. Her comprehensive energy vision that she outlined
in 2006, calls for 20 percent of all energy used or sold in the state to
come from clean or renewable resources by 2020.
On
February 3, 2009, Governor Rell today issued an executive order that
establishes guidelines to train and develop Connecticut’s green collar
workforce. Among the highlights of Executive Order 23:
-
The Commissioners of the Department of
Economic and Community Development and the Department of Labor to
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 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.
For more information on the Green Jobs
Partnership and other stimulus initiatives in the state visit:
www.ct.gov and click on the CT Recovery link.
