FEBRUARY 18, 2010 ISSUE
U.S. Department of Labor Grant Focuses on Turning Green into Gold in WNC
The Future Forward Workforce Alliance—a partnership including the High Country, Western Piedmont and Region C Workforce Development Boards—is one of four project teams in North Carolina to win a significant U.S. Department of Labor grant focused on developing green training and employment opportunities in the region.
The grant is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and will provide training for displaced workers that leads to industry-recognized certificates in energy-efficient building, construction and retrofitting industries and energy efficiency assessment.
The 15 counties included in the Western North Carolina grant award are Alleghany, Ashe, Alexander, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Watauga, Wilkes and Yancey.
“The energy efficiency and renewable energy fields hold great potential for increasing employment opportunities in the rural areas of North Carolina,” said High Country Workforce Director Carole Coates. “Two recent local examples of such work are the LEED-certified Watauga High School in Boone and the state visitors’ center in Wilkesboro. With the strong national focus on moving the United States toward more energy-efficient construction, building retrofits and sustainable sources of energy, the job market for skilled and certified technicians in plumbing, green building construction, HVAC, weatherization, solar/photovoltaic panel installation and home energy audits will grow as the economy recovers. We are delighted to partner with two other workforce boards in our region to help develop this potential.”
The award of the Green Is Gold for NC grant begins a three-year initiative to build a new industry base in the region. Key components of the initiative include courses and certifications offered in partnership with the community colleges, tuition assistance for students, job fairs, subsidized wages for new hires and permanent employment.
The grant provides resources for each of the three partner workforce development boards to hire a business services energy sector specialist who will coordinate all aspects of the initiative, including the development of a consortium of area employers involved in sustainable energy that will advise community colleges and workforce boards on the skills in demand and assist with the other aspects of moving students into well-paying green jobs.
To provide additional assistance and oversight, each workforce development board in the partnership will form an energy sector committee.
“One of Gov. Bev Perdue’s principal policy initiatives is to make North Carolina a national green energy leader,” Coates said. “The award of this important grant gives us the resources to help build a qualified workforce to support the governor’s policy.”
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