Wisconsin, the Stimulus Package, and Green Jobs

Some legal commentators in recent months have questioned whether the Obama Stimulus Package will truly create green jobs for the American economy. See, for example, Morriss et. al., Green Job Myths.

Here is some indication how to use those dollars so that they will actually create those jobs.  The following is a press release from the Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS), a nonprofit, nonpartisan “think-and-do tank,” dedicated to improving economic performance and living standards in the state of Wisconsin and nationally:

A new report from the Center on Wisconsin Strategy encourages the state to embrace the green-collar potential of a clean energy economy. Greening Wisconsin’s Workforce: Training, Recovery and the Clean Energy Economy looks at how Wisconsin might best use its Recovery Act dollars and first-rate technical college system to ensure that the emerging green economy benefits Wisconsin’s working families. 

“A greener Wisconsin economy can create and retain jobs,” said Sarah White, COWS Senior Associate and the report’s author. “To make real progress, we need to carefully target economic and workforce development, ensuring that “green jobs” are good jobs, and that both unemployed and low-income working adults can access training for them.”

Where are the green jobs? Some are atop wind towers or green rooftops. But more are hiding in plain sight. The vast majority, in fact, will be found in traditional occupations and industries fortified, in some cases, with new green skills. Green-collar workers are machinists, assemblers and truck drivers; pipefitters, insulators and carpenters; technicians, mechanics and maintenance workers; bookkeepers, receptionists, and customer service representatives.  And because most of them will  require more than a high school but less than a 4-year college degree, Wisconsin’s technical colleges will be a key training resource.

Greening Wisconsin’s Workforce offers a brief overview of clean energy training programs already in place at campuses across the state, related Recovery Act resources, and national best practices for green technical training initiatives. The report also urges Wisconsin to green its manufacturing base and includes an appendix of representative occupations in three green sectors:  wind turbine production, energy efficiency, and advanced biofuels.

Drawing on findings from COWS’ influential national report, Greener Pathways: Jobs and Workforce Development in the Clean Energy Economy, the new release makes specific policy recommendations for coordinated, demand-driven training at Wisconsin’s technical colleges and workforce agencies. An additional report examining the role of apprenticeship, apprenticeship prep, and community-based training programs will be released early this summer.

It’s an interesting and important read.  Here is the new report: Greening Wisconsin’s Workforce: Training, Recovery and the Clean Energy Economy.

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Travis Miller

    This is perhaps the most exciting development in America. In earnest, the country has been spending hundreds of billions of dollars to purchase energy supplies internationally. If even a fraction of that revenue could be directed toward local domestic production, the recession would be a thing of the past. Moreover, these jobs cannot be outsourced, are exciting to people, and will withstand any economic issues so long as people need energy. I am eager and excited for the prospects.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.