| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 2:24 am |
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Students bet on green-collar jobs More colleges are offering training for work in the renewable energy field. SAN JOSE, Calif. -- As the economy sheds jobs, community colleges across the country are reporting a surge of unemployed workers enrolling in courses that offer training for "green-collar" jobs.Students are learning how to install solar panels, repair wind turbines, produce biofuels and do other work related to renewable energy. "I think the opportunities in this field are going to be huge," said Rudy Gastelo, a part-time handyman who left the construction industry two years ago. "I'm not getting that 9-to-5 paycheck, so I'm looking forward to maybe getting a job within a solar company." To meet growing demand, two-year colleges are launching or expanding green job training with money from the federal stimulus package. Students and schools are betting that President Barack Obama's campaign to promote alternative energy and curb global warming will create millions of well-paying green jobs that do not require a four-year degree. Gastelo, 32, is learning how to install solar power systems at San Jose City College, which has long waiting lists for such classes. But the steep economic downturn has not spared the green energy industry, which had been expanding rapidly before the financial crisis. Many renewable-power firms are now canceling projects, laying off workers or selling themselves to competitors because business has dried up. "It's going to be a very tough year. A lot of companies are not going to make it," said Ron Pernick, co-founder of the market research firm Clean Edge Inc. Many newly trained workers are having trouble finding jobs, and some people worry that schools could end up producing too many workers for too few jobs. The federal stimulus package sets aside tens of billions of dollars to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. It will also create thousands of jobs retrofitting government buildings and public housing to make them more energy-efficient. "The recovery package will help move industry forward and offer a lot of opportunities for workers at all levels," said Mindy Feldbaum, director of workforce development programs at the National Institute for Work and Learning. The renewable energy industry generated about 500,000 jobs and $43 billion revenue in the U.S. in 2007. The much broader energy-efficiency industry generated 8.6 million jobs and $1 trillion in revenue, according to a report issued in January by the American Solar Energy Society. In Silicon Valley, community colleges have teamed up with the solar energy industry to train workers how to install rooftop systems. When the program was launched in 2007, solar power was growing rapidly in California, thanks in part to a $3 billion state rebate program. But the financial crisis has frozen the market for new systems. Many solar-installation firms are laying off workers, not hiring them. |
- Sorry, Hawkeye; M*A*S*H gets bowled over
- Former Whidbey student shot
- County archive software paid for but waiting for set-up
- Ruling expected on Sultan beating statement
- ‘Roadkill’ caucus seeks a voice for centrist Democrats
- Police seek witnesses in two accidents
- PAWS calls out for critter care-givers
- Boeing has a busy test schedule
- Ex-Boeing engineer jailed for espionage
- Morning mystery: What happened to House Bill 3181?
- Lynnwood sets height limit on grass: 8 inches
(10) - State Senate votes to toss I-960's tax-raising hurdle (9)
- School levies in Snohomish County all passing, Marysville bond failing (6)
- A tidy lawn could be law in Lynnwood (4)
- Vote on school levies by Tuesday (3)
- Two suspects sought in Everett shooting that injured two (3)
- County archive software paid for but waiting for set-up (3)
- Snohomish County's bargain housing won't last (2)
- Reader poll: Should the WIAA add lacrosse as a sanctioned sport? (2)
- Former Whidbey student shot (2)
- Jackson girls outlast Meadowdale owdale
- OBT raises barre in children’s program
- Junior firefighters
- School levies passing
- Mavericks topple Wolfpack
- Get a second look at Second City Feb. 13
- Sports Briefs
- Warriors advance 11 to regional meet
- Arlington's Cascade Valley Hospital celebrates expansion, national award and 100 years of service
- Business Licences Feb. 2010
- Technology tips for launching your own business
- Business Events Feb. 2010
- Tech Talk: No excuse today for going without a Web site
- State already raising fees and rates that restrict business growth
- Some legislators again targeting people’s initiative petition rights
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