Chapter 4 –
7. Goal: Prepare local residents for green collar job opportunities
Step one toward creating green collar job opportunities is a commitment to enhance demand for energy services such as building retrofits and solar installations. These services not only reduce energy consumption and GHG emissions, but also create increased demand for people that can do the work.
Importantly, this demand for labor is local, because it requires improving our local built environment. It cannot be outsourced. The City must work with neighboring cities and community agencies to connect local residents to emerging job opportunities. In doing so we will protect the environment and provide pathways to sustainable employment at the same time.
The City of Berkeley and several partners have already begun the task of preparing local residents for jobs in the emerging green economy. Together, through a cooperative effort called the East Bay Green Corridor Partnership, the Cities of Berkeley, Oakland, Richmond and Emeryville are joining with leaders from UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to design a regional program that supports green workforce development. The goal is to provide the training and education necessary to meet future workforce demand in the green economy and to continue to attract green energy investment in the region. The partnership works collaboratively to 1) identify regional employer demand, and 2) develop new technical and soft skills training and education programs to help meet the industry demand. The overarching vision is to develop Green Energy Education and Career Pathways that provide multiple entry points into the training and education system and that lead people into jobs with career ladders and benefits.
a. Policy: Prepare and promote our local workforce for local and regional green jobs that offer stable employment, career growth and living wages
Implementing Actions:
- Identify projected demand for skilled labor associated with implementation of the Climate Action Plan and other sustainability strategies through partnerships with economic development agencies, local universities, community colleges, certified apprenticeship programs, workforce development and training programs, businesses, and community agencies.
- Integrate energy and climate-related education into the public school curriculum and after school learning programs and explore development of a high school Green Career Technical Academy by partnering with the Berkeley Unified School District, Berkeley High School and the Berkeley Technical Academy (B-Tech). Berkeley High School’s School of Justice and Ecology received funding to be a Community Partnership Academy incorporating career education and climate change education through their biology and environmental science courses. Students also take part in a range of hands-on activities and internships outside the classroom. (For an in depth analysis of green jobs potential and policies see: Green Collar Jobs: An Analysis of the Capacity of Green Businesses to Provide High Quality Jobs for Men and Women with Barriers to Employment. This report is a case study specific to Berkeley and was funded by the City’s Office of Energy and Sustainable Development.)
- Strengthen and expand job training partnerships and opportunities that prepare young adults, many with barriers to employment (e.g., lack of education, language/cultural barriers, etc.), to seize existing and future green collar job opportunities. The East Bay Green Corridor Partnership and other community partners such as Rising Sun Energy Center are actively developing training in life and job readiness skills, career counseling, specific skilled labor training, job placement assistance, assistance in meeting apprenticeship program requirements, and long-term follow-up support for participants.
- Assist Berkeley residents to enroll in pre-apprenticeship trades training programs, such as those that prepare students for jobs in green construction, energy retrofits, and solar photovoltaic installation. Work with agencies such as Rubicon Workforce Services (the North County One-Stop Center), Berkeley Youth Alternative (the North County agency funded with Workforce Investment Act funds for youth), City of Berkeley Programs, and schools and community programs reaching out to South and West Berkeley youth to expose them to green job education and training opportunities.
- Provide ongoing support for local green businesses and industries that provide green collar jobs. The City can provide this support in several ways, including: utilizing procurement dollars and city contracts to support local green businesses; providing marketing assistance; and helping local green businesses access energy efficiency and renewable energy services.
- Stimulate demand for energy services and an energy service workforce by strengthening and improving the administration and performance of the City’s First Source Employment Ordinance and by developing additional provisions and incentives to encourage green businesses and contractors to hire local and provide high-quality employment. The First Source Employment Ordinance will be strengthened to ensure that local workforce development efforts produce qualified candidates for jobs in the energy services sector. Berkeley’s Department of Planning and Development and the Office of Economic Development will work together to explore incentives for businesses and contractors to hire local workers. Such incentives could include, but are not limited to, rebates on permits related to solar installation or energy efficiency improvements for contractors that hire local.
- Consider developing and adopting a Local Hire Ordinance that would serve to create additional opportunities for local residents to get jobs.