The challenge and the opportunity of the green revolution is that clean energy can be generated almost everywhere. The fossil fuel system is more centralized: oil, gas, and coal are extracted in one place, processed in another place, and then shipped to customers in a third place. Solar panels, on the other hand, can be installed in homes, but also in channels and reservoirsin airportson parking lotsand virtually anywhere there is free space. This flexibility means you need skilled workers, too. everywhere.
The good news is that much of that labor demand can be met by training workers. A construction worker might learn to make energy-efficient modifications, for example, or an oil rig worker might switch to building support platforms for solar panels. “As much as we need new workers, there are a lot of workers working on something similar,” says Michael Timberlake, director of communications for the nonprofit Environmental Entrepreneurs. “This is a great opportunity to train the next generation of workers, but many of these workers have those skills.”
Part of the current labor problem stems from the patchwork training system in the US, which includes union-run apprenticeships, employer-sponsored programs, and vocational schools where students must pay out-of-pocket tuition. “We have this system in America where you decide what you want to do, learn all about it in school, and then try the job and figure out whether you like it or not after you’ve spent $100,000,” Todd says. Vachon, who is studying labor and employment relations at Rutgers University. “We lack the educational infrastructure, but we also lack the people who are dedicated to the trades.”
On the other hand, a country like Germany has a national training program in which the educational system and the labor market are in close communication. That better supports workers and makes the country more adaptable to economic changes, such as the transition to green technologies, Vachon says. “Germany is always the example to follow,” he says, “both in terms of how they have handled transitions, but also their educational infrastructure is more practical than ours.”
In fact, the clean energy industry is taking steps to streamline worker recruitment and training. “Yes, there are some challenges in terms of open positions among our members today,” says Tom Vinson, vice president of regulatory affairs for American Clean Power, which represents companies in the sector. “Recruitment and education are part of the challenge facing the industry and something we are trying to increase.”
for your group Dear All, the IRA could create 550,000 new clean energy jobs by 2030, more than double the current workforce. To help fill hundreds of thousands of jobs, the group is developing minimum training standards for, for example, solar and wind energy technicians. It also focuses on “microcredentials,” which would verify that workers have the skills they learned in school and help transfer people from one industry to another. “So if you were a fossil power plant worker,” Vinson says, “you might not have to do the same level of training to convert and operate a wind or solar facility.”