Preparing College Grads for Jobs in Clean Energy
More than 2.5 million Americans work in clean energy;
strong federal and state clean energy policies could
create even more jobs for millennials and others. What do
college students and millennials need to know in order to
land a job in the rapidly expanding clean energy economy?
A new, first-of-its-kind guidebook recently unveiled
by the national nonpartisan business group Environmental
Entrepreneurs (E2, www.e2.org) and the Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC, www.nrdc.org) offers
practical, how-to advice for young people seeking careers
in clean energy.
“Clean Power Players” — available for download in
PDF format at www.e2.org and at E2’s
website — provides job seekers with an overview of clean
energy industries like wind, solar and energy efficiency. The
guidebook highlights the value of networking, encourages
political engagement and profiles 10 young clean energy
business leaders — the namesake “Clean Power Players” —
who hail from states including Missouri, Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Colorado, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
“I’m excited to be working in the clean energy industry
because of the innovative technology and the clear benefits
that it is having and will continue to have on peoples’ lives,”
says Cory Connolly, 27, a project manager at Detroit-based
Levin Energy Partners. “Whether it’s learning about new
technologies or seeing disruptive business models take
hold around clean energy, it’s a fascinating field to work in.
“I met a lot of my peers in the clean energy industry
working on climate change in previous roles. For many of
us, what makes working on clean energy satisfying is that
we are making real projects happen that benefit people
and the planet,” Connolly adds.
The guidebook was initially released at a panel at
Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago. It arrived
as colleges and universities prepared to graduate the
Class of 2016. The guidebook also arrives as workers in the
fossil fuel sector suffer through recent layoffs in industries
like coal mining. These layoffs underscore the urgent
national need to support and re-train laid-off fossil fuel
industry workers to help build out America’s clean energy
infrastructure.
New studies based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
(www.bls.gov) data illustrate just how compelling a career
choice clean energy can be. In late March, E2 released a
pair of clean energy jobs reports: “Clean Jobs America,”
which counted more than 2.5 million clean energy jobs
nationwide, and “Clean Jobs Midwest,” which tallied
569,000 clean energy jobs in the 12-state Midwestern
region and predicted a 4.4 percent growth rate over the
next year. Those reports are also available for download
from E2’s website.
“We need to set the stage for the next generation of
American workers to succeed,” says Gail Parson, E2’s Midwest
advocate and a contributor to the report. “Stronger
policies at both the state and federal levels can help make
that happen.”
State energy efficiency and renewable standards,
federal tax incentives and other policies have helped drive
exponential growth in clean energy jobs in recent years,
Parson says. To keep these jobs growing, lawmakers should
continue to support the policies that are driving the clean
energy sector — ranging from the recent international
climate agreement reached in Paris, to the federal Clean
Power Plan, to state and regional clean energy standards.
“We can and must solve climate change — it’s the
most urgent challenge of our time,” Connolly observes. “To
build a future with abundant clean, renewable energy, it’s
going to take effort and coordination from policymakers,
business leaders, universities and philanthropists. And
millennials like the Clean Power Players and many more
working across various fields are going to be crucial.”
This article originally appeared in the issue of .