Reality Check: The “Green Jobs" Revolution Starts with Green Skills

Green jobs require green skills. And green skills—for construction, solar installation, water conservation and other areas—require training and education.  In every city and state there’s an explosion of awareness about green jobs, but unless they and the federal government invest in identifying the specific green skills and the strategies to help people develop them, the green jobs revolution won’t achieve its potential.

In San Antonio, Texas, the city council and Mayor Phil Hardberger launched Mission Verde, a comprehensive sustainability plan for the city that includes a Green Jobs Initiative. These elected officials are serious about doing more than just advocating for “green jobs.” They asked the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL), to work with local workforce agencies, community colleges and universities, and employers to design a comprehensive plan to train workers for green jobs in the new energy economy.

Our starting point comes right out of the Mission Verde plan, which calls for the completion of as many residential green energy retrofits in San Antonio as possible, particularly in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods. To ensure that sufficient workers will be available to perform the retrofits, CAEL will identify the skills required for those and other area green jobs, and review education and training programs in the region to see if they meet these requirements. We will collaborate with local educators, educational institutions and employers to create or augment green training programs and develop strategies to communicate job and training options to unemployed or low-income workers.

The city’s Green Jobs Initiative is key to building a sustainable economy in San Antonio. By taking a thorough approach to green job creation that embeds “green skills” into the equation, San Antonio will be setting an example for other cities and regions to follow.

Pamela Tate is President and CEO of CAEL in Chicago. James Nixon is chair of Sustainable Systems, Inc., in Oakland, California.