STATE WRKRS CAN LEAD EFFICIENCY

Report says green economy producing jobs, but urges work quality improvement
Kathleen Maclay, March 17, 2011 (UC Berkeley News Center)

"To achieve the state’s energy efficiency goals and provide better career opportunities for Californians, the state should modify its clean energy programs and its extensive but fragmented training and education programs, according to a report led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley…[It is] the first comprehensive analysis of the job impacts and workforce preparation issues from state and federal policies and programs set up to improve energy efficiency in homes and businesses, reduce peak energy demand, and develop localized renewable energy generation in California…

"…[California Workforce Education and Training Needs Assessment for Energy Efficiency, Demand Response and Distributed Generation]…forecasts about $11.2 billion worth of public and private investments in energy efficiency in California by the year 2020, up from $6.6 billion in 2010. This investment will create about 211,000 jobs in 2020. The jobs — which represent one year of full-time work — will result not just from the direct investment but also from the indirect demand generated by this increase in economic activity. The jobs will be distributed throughout the economy, not just in ‘green’ businesses or occupations…"

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"The future jobs that are directly related to energy efficiency work — and thus in need of ‘green’ training — are primarily in traditional construction trades, such electricians, carpenters and sheet metal workers…[V]ery few are in new specialized ‘green’ occupations such as energy auditors or solar installers…

"…[F]ears about shortages of new workers for energy-efficiency and related jobs [are] unwarranted, through at least 2020, because of the long queue of unemployed workers already in the main occupations…[But] there are serious concerns about work quality…[P]oor quality installation and maintenance of energy efficient equipment and materials is common in some sectors, such as residential retrofitting and air conditioning, and the UC Berkeley team found that this low quality is correlated with low wages and high worker turnover."

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"…[The] researchers warned that unless building codes and other regulations are enforced, quality standards are placed on contractors, skill certifications are required, and workers are rewarded for acquiring skills with higher wages, these quality problems will undermine efforts to achieve energy efficiency goals and to create good jobs for Californians. Job training is necessary, but not sufficient to improve quality…

"…[There are] more than 1,000 training programs throughout the state already offering basic to advanced training for the most in-demand occupations. These are located in four-year colleges, community colleges, state-certified apprenticeship programs, utility training centers, private training organizations, community-based organizations and high school career technical programs…[S]hortages of jobs for graduates from education and training programs are…likely to persist through 2020, particularly for those with less than four years of college, so emphasis should be placed on revamping and leveraging existing training programs…"