By DUANE M. ELLING
Michigan workers are among those getting help preparing for good-paying jobs in the country’s “green” economy, thanks to the recently launched
Greenforce Initiative.
The two-year initiative is building the capacity of community colleges in Michigan and five other states to help underserved adults obtain the education, training and experience needed to succeed in environment-related careers.
“Low-income, low-skilled workers are often ‘locked out’ of good paying jobs in growth industries,” said Lisa Madry, campus field director at the
National Wildlife Federation (NWF).
The Greenforce Initiative is helping underserved workers in Michigan and other states prepare for careers in the "green" economy. |
“Greenforce will help make training for the new ‘green’ careers more accessible to these workers and, at the same time, expand our country’s capacity to address the climate crisis.”
The initiative formally was launched in late 2010 by NWF - the largest private, nonprofit environmental conservation education and advocacy organization in the U.S. - and
Jobs For the Future (JFF), a leading national policy, research and action organization that seeks to accelerate education and career advancement for disadvantaged young people and adults. Both are longtime Mott Foundation grantees.
Greenforce is funded in Michigan by a two-year, $250,000 grant from Mott to NWF. The
Bank of America Charitable Foundation is supporting the initiative’s work in Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Participating states were selected based on several criteria, according to JFF, including a demonstrated interest and commitment to preparing low-skill adults for the new job opportunities forecasted in the changing economy.
Mott’s longstanding support for industry-specific – or sectoral – workforce-development strategies in its home state and across the country has totaled $92 million since 1978. The grant for Greenforce also reflects the Foundation’s interest in the expanding role of community colleges in connecting workers to the changing labor market.
A growing awareness in the U.S. and abroad of the toll that human demands take on limited natural resources is sparking growth in industries focused on reducing negative impacts on the environment. The emerging sectors are also creating a wave of new job opportunities.
For example, a 2009 study found that the number of U.S. jobs related to the clean energy industry grew by 9.1 percent between 1998 and 2007, compared to a 3.7 percent increase in the labor market overall. Analysts note that an annual investment of $150 billion in clean-energy technologies can generate roughly 1.7 million new jobs throughout the nation’s economy.
To capitalize on those trends in Michigan, the Greenforce Initiative is working with 11 community colleges around the state to build and expand career ladders in clean-fuel technology and other green-job sectors. The schools joined state educational and workforce development leaders for a “learning and action” summit today at
Lansing Community College.
Stephen Lynch, senior project manager in JFF’s Building Economic Opportunity Group, notes that aligning educational and training curriculums with the needs of local green industries is the key to success. To that end, the initiative is helping the participating colleges obtain related industry and labor market data, as well as connect and engage with area employers.
[1] “We have to be certain that we’re training people for actual jobs that already exist locally or that are projected to grow in the coming years,” said Lynch.
“This approach will help ensure that students gain the specific skills, experiences and certifications needed to open doors to the local green economy.”
Julie Parks, director of workforce training at
Grand Rapids Community College, echoes his point. The school plans to use its place in the Greenforce network to expand its current green-job curriculums and share related strategies with other participating schools.
“By learning from one another, we can build new courses and needed skill sets more quickly and with a high level of quality,” she said.
“In turn, we’ll provide employers with the trained workers they need and give students the credentials that will help them realize their career dreams.”
Community colleges are a natural fit for the initiative, says Madry, with the schools often considered “more approachable and accessible by people who otherwise think that a college-level education is out of their reach.”
She notes that community colleges also are often adept at connecting students with resources needed to overcome barriers to education, training and the labor market.
Putting the environment-first philosophy into everyday practice on the college campuses is also core to the initiative. Each participating school is charged with taking steps to minimize its environmental impact, such as reducing carbon emissions, adopting more energy-efficient technologies or implementing broad recycling practices.
And students gain valuable work experience by helping the schools explore, develop and implement the on-site strategies.
“Decreasing the carbon footprint on campus while giving students the hands-on training they need to get a good job in the green economy makes Greenforce a truly unique workforce development strategy,” said Lynch.
The impacts extend beyond the college campuses, notes Juliana Goodlaw-Morris, campus field manager with NWF’s Campus Ecology program and regional lead for the Greenforce work in Michigan.
“In many places, when community colleges adopt sustainable practices and green their campuses it becomes news,” she said.
“Those stories can change how local residents view the environment and their impact on it, and even reshape their own environmental behaviors.”
The initiative also is helping employers to explore and adopt environmentally sound business plans and practices, and is nurturing a positive economic impact for local communities and the nation, says Madry.
“As the Michigan economy transitions into more green industries, it’s going to need workers who are ready to meet the local needs,” she said.
“The state has a long history of helping to drive the country forward and this is another step along that road.”
1 The community colleges participating in Greenforce, notes JFF’s Stephen Lynch, were chosen based on their proven capacity to deliver effective job training programs and pathways to living-wage careers; access to the target student population of underserved adults; and demonstrated investments in “greening” their schools’ campuses. A complete list of the colleges is available on the NWF Web site.