Workforce Development - Green Jobs

Green Careers for Coloradans
Green Careers for Coloradans is a two-year, $3.6 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus fund grant awarded to Labor's Community Agency, Inc. in January 2010, by the U.S. Department of Labor. The grant provides training opportunities to currently employed journey workers, apprentices, and dislocated construction workers for the emerging green skills and certifications needed by Colorado's Energy-Efficient Building, Renewal Electric Power, and Energy Efficiency Assessment industries. The grant also reaches out community based organizations' newly trained workers to introduce them to the value of registered apprenticeships as a Green Career Ladder. The grant is an innovative training collaboration with statewide joint electrical trade apprenticeship training providers, community colleges, green certification driven training providers, industry associations, along with workforce and community based organizations. 

The State Energy Sector Partnership Grant
The State Energy Sector Partnership (SESP) is an innovative, three-year partnership between Colorado businesses, training providers, and government to give businesses the workforce they need to thrive and grow and help Colorado workers have a bright future with a career in the energy efficient or renewal energy fields. The partnership has received $5.9 million to fund major components include supporting Registered Apprenticeship Programs, Energy Scholarships for green training, a Public Awareness and Youth Outreach campaign, an Energy Entrepreneurial program, and support for Youth Conservation Corps.

The Denver Green Job Initiative
Denver Green Jobs Initiative will provide job training to 500 residents of the Five Points region of Denver to help them launch careers in the fast-growing renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) industries of Colorado. The two-year project will invest $3.6 million in supporting efforts to help unemployed and/or low-income individuals, high-school dropouts, exoffenders, women and minorities in the Five Points area of Denver to get the necessary training in technical and nontechnical skills to obtain jobs in the New Energy Economy. The grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Labor American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's Pathways out of Poverty initiative. 

Strategies to Enhance Colorado's Talent Through Regional Solutions (SECTORS)
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment is committed to using sector strategies as a strategic framework for workforce and economic development. The SECTORS Initiative is supporting statewide implementation of sector-based initiatives through targeted investments in regional economies. Sector initiatives are industry-specific, regional partnerships that address employers' needs for skilled workers, and workers' needs for good jobs. Several Sector initiatives, representing a $1.5 million investment, are focused intensively on the workforce needs of the renewable energy industry. The initiatives are designed to be well sustained, engage multiple employers to analyze industry needs, and result in customized solutions that meets workforce and business needs. Renewable energy sector initiatives rely on local partnerships that are led by employers and include workforce development, economic development, education, and other stakeholders to identify and address the highest priority workforce challenges of the industry.