New Report: California’s energy efficiency policies have a big job impact, but state needs to support more highly skilled and highly paid construction trades work force
» Executive Summary
» Part 1
» Part 2
» Appendices
» UC Berkeley News Center Press Release
On March 17, 2011, The Donald Vial Center on Employment in the Green Economy released the California Workforce Education and Training Needs Assessment for Energy Efficiency, Distributed Generation, and Demand Response. The report was endorsed by California Public Utility Commission president Mike Peevey, Labor and Workforce Development Agency Secretary Martin Morgentstern, and Senator Loni Hancock (D-Oakland) in a press conference at the State Capitol. The study was mandated in the California Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic plan to provide recommendations to the CPUC and other agencies on the workforce strategies needed to achieve the state’s ambitious energy efficiency goals.
Report results:
- By 2020, energy efficiency policies will result in about $11.2 billion of public and private investment, resulting in 211,000 jobs.
- Two-thirds of the jobs that are directly related to energy efficiency work are in the traditional construction trades, and one-sixth are in professional jobs such as architects and engineers; only a tiny number of the jobs are in new specialized "green jobs."
- Poor quality installation of energy efficient equipment some sectors is undermining the achievement of energy efficiency goals and is directly linked to low-wage labor markets which do not reward workers or businesses for investments in training.
- California has over 1,000 training and education programs training in the key forecasted occupations, but the lack of widespread industry-recognized certifications lead to confusion and lack of coordination in the workforce development system.
Report recommendations:
- Continue and expand the state's energy efficiency policies in order to meet the state's ambitious energy efficiency goals and create good jobs.
- "Green" existing training programs for traditional occupations by incorporating energy efficiency skills and knowledge into curricula, rather than promoting stand-alone, narrowly focused green training programs.
- Use our public and ratepayer investment to promote high quality work and good careers for Californians by:
- Setting high quality skills certification standards for workers; and
- Enforcing building codes and requiring other strong quality standards for contractors.
Green Jobs Summit
On December 8th The Donald Vial Center on Employment in the Green Economy hosted the summit “Workforce Strategies, Energy Efficiency, and Green Jobs: A summit to discuss needs, challenges, and opportunities in California”. It was a great success and over 250 people attended the event at the Clark Kerr Center at UC Berkeley. Results were presented from the first comprehensive assessment of labor demand and education and training infrastructure in energy efficiency, distributed generation, and demand response. The summit offered stakeholders from the workforce and energy communities a forum for discussion of the key findings and recommendations and possible next steps.
» Read more on summit
Vial Center to Help CPUC Plan for a Green Workforce
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) announced last week (Wednesday, Dec. 2) the selection of the University of California, Berkeley's Donald Vial Center on Employment in the Green Economy to lead a $1.1 million study to assess California's workforce development needs as part of the California Long Term Energy Efficiency Strategic Plan.
Employment in the Green Economy
In response to growing concern about climate change and its potential effects, a “green” economic sector is growing rapidly in California to provide consumers with products and services ranging from solar panels to plug-in hybrid cars to environmentally certified building materials. The State of California has a strong history of policies to promote energy efficiency and renewables, and is about to implement the strongest anti-global warming legislation in the country, the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32, 2007). At the local level, cities and counties are developing initiatives to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and attract new business in emerging technologies, such as the East Bay Green Initiative recently proposed by the mayors of Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley and Richmond.
Employers, economic development planners, workforce professionals, educators, and unions want to know what these new policies and the new green economy will mean for them. Affected industries will include cement manufacturing, oil refining, steel production, construction, solar electronics, energy generation, heating, ventilation and air conditioning, plumbing, and many more. While not all these sectors are high-tech, incipient changes will demand improved methods, better engineering, and new job skills. Many of these industries have been organized by trade unions which have generated higher wages and benefits and a strong apprenticeship infrastructure in the skilled trades.
The opportunities are many: a chance for California to lead the way in environmental policy and climate change; an occasion to train a new generation of engineers, technical workers and skilled tradespeople in green technologies; an opportunity for labor, business, and workforce development and economic planners to help develop a new array of well-paying jobs and careers with good benefits; and an opening at the ground level to make quality jobs accessible to low-income communities.
The challenges are also clear. Green technologies will not flourish without a well-trained technical and supporting labor force. Unions will resist green policies if it means trading in old jobs that pay well for new jobs of lesser quality. Green entrepreneurs will be afraid of negotiating away their flexibility and profit margins if wage and regulatory demands are too great. Local community groups will not support “brownfields” redevelopment if they don’t see jobs made available to their residents. There is potential for a “win-win-win” strategy in this growing facet of California’s economy, but it will require careful strategies, educational efforts, and coalitions.