Training the Green Collar Workforce: A Role for Community Colleges
Xarissa Holdaway writes for Worldchanging about the role community colleges can play in training the workers for a green energy economy.
"A key issue [in building a green economy] will be sourcing the workers that can produce and manage clean energy," writes Xarissa Holdaway in an article on Worldchanging.com. Many of these jobs can be occupied by people currently employed in the dirty fossil fuel industry, although significant retraining will be required.
Community colleges offer a promising base to develop the job skills necessary for new green jobs, in part because they are able to adapt existing vocational programs to the changing needs of the energy industry. Moreover, there is money available from the stimulus bill that could be used to train the next generation of green collar workers. Specifically, $4 billion is earmarked for job training programs and over $70 billion directed towards higher education in general.
Additionally, the involvement of community colleges in training for green jobs may have welcome benefits for more rural areas where community colleges are often located.
