By Merrilee Harrigan, Vice President, Education, Alliance to Save Energy
Everyone seems to be talking about green jobs, and with good reason. According to an Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) briefing, “strategies to tackle climate change are projected to create 4.5 million net jobs by 2020” across the clean-tech sector.
Of the new jobs created, those in the energy efficiency field are clearly outpacing jobs in other sectors. The same EESI briefing reports that “energy efficiency accounts for most of these new jobs, roughly 3.5 million. Renewable energy accounts for an additional 1 million net jobs.”
What Does a Green Collar Job Look Like?
Interestingly, many green jobs in energy efficiency actually build on existing trades.
For example, to actually carry out weatherization upgrades on homes, many of the targeted follow-up jobs are performed by traditional career and technical education trades – insulation installer, HVAC technician, machinist, welder, carpenter, electrical system installer, plumber and roofer.
Likewise, energy auditing is another field that’s experience growth, as homeowners and businesses alike come to see the value in measuring their energy consumption.
Los Angeles Community Colleges
This is one reason the Alliance’s Green Campus program was thrilled to begin work in 2009-2010 at three campuses in the Los Angeles Community College District, where students are getting hands-on experience on efficiency projects.
We feel that this work is very important in light of the fact that community and technical colleges have been developing new programs for fields such as auditing and sustainable construction.
Unsurprisingly, schools are seeing the same trends as careers in terms of adding efficiency to existing programs. According to a paper published by Washington State University Extension Energy Program, “relatively few two-year colleges currently offer energy efficiency as a dedicated program; many programs include energy efficiency within broader subjects such as in environmental sciences, buildings sciences or engineering technology.”
Finding Mentors in the Energy Efficiency Field
All in all, energy efficiency is a relatively a new field. So how can today’s students know what to expect when they enter it?
This is where mentors can become valuable ambassadors of the energy efficiency field. At the Alliance, the Education Team is working with our organization’s corporate Associates to develop a National Energy Efficiency Intern Program (NEEIP) which would introduce interested, motivated college students to businesses and organizations in the energy efficiency field.
The program will bridge the gap between employers and students in the energy efficiency field, providing companies with access to a large pool of students in four-year colleges and universities, community colleges, and graduate schools who are interested in careers in energy efficiency.
Participating businesses and organizations will be able to view information on students’ academic experience and success, specific interest in internships, and geographic and schedule requirements.
We hope that doing our part to prepare students to go into energy efficiency jobs will spur on a whole generation of citizens aware of and engaged in saving energy and environmental stewardship.
Tags: education, energy audit, green jobs
I applaud the Alliance’s Education Team as it develops a National Energy Efficiency Intern Program (NEEIP)to introduce interested, motivated college students to businesses and organizations in the energy efficiency field. From my position as the Department of Defense Facilites Energy Director, I see an enormous need for people with technical and professional experience in energy efficiency education and experience. The DoD and industry need people with this experience to guide this nation towards reduced reliance on foreign sources of energy. Many people “think” they know what to do in this vast energy field but lack the training and skills to actually carry-out energy audits, determine solutions, and install and operate new energy consuming equipment.
I hope that through NEEIP you can not only create a trained and valuable green workforce but create a culture where energy becomes a consideration in all activities and behavior changes create opportuniites for energy conservation. If you need a motivated mentor to advance NEEIP, call on me.
Brian J. Lally, P.E.