SAN DIEGO, Calif.—With California’s unemployment figures in the double digits, scores of middle aged, out-of-work San Diegans showed up at a Green Jobs Forum, hosted by Congresswoman Susan Davis on Aug. 29 as a free community event. They were looking for a silver lining in a dismal economy, ready to find out what it takes to transition into the green energy industry as a business opportunity or just to find a job.
A panel of four local community organizations shared resources and optimism that San Diego was headed toward becoming the nation’s green industry leader with the help of federal stimulus money.
According to an Aug. 21 news release by the Employment Development Department, a California government agency, California’s unemployment rate in July was at 11.9 percent. The year-over-year change (July 2008 to July 2009) shows a decrease of 760,200 jobs (down 5.1 percent). Compared with this, the U.S. unemployment rate decreased in July, falling to 9.4 percent.
“The situation is difficult with the economy right now, but we do see a movement to create green jobs here in San Diego,” said Congresswoman Susan Davis (D - 53rd district) in her opening of the Green Jobs Forum at the San Diego Workforce Partnership Career Center in City Heights.
Davis said that over $19 million have already been made available to California through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and a good part of these funds have been marked for creating and supporting green jobs.
In addition, the House recently passed the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act. This plan is to create millions of new green jobs, lower consumer energy costs, boost America’s energy independence, and cut global warming pollutants. The Senate too is working on its version of this legislation, Davis said, and it is her hope that the final bill will have a strong emphasis on green jobs and that green jobs become the staple of our work force and a reality in a very big way.
Davis said her office is offering the first ever green internship. It was an idea she came up with last year, and she was surprised to find that there were no internships like that.
“It’s an exciting time. You are going to be on the forefront of the green sector” the Congresswoman told the scores of predominantly middle-aged San Diego job seekers who crowded the conference room to overflowing eager to hear what the green expert panel had to offer.
Local Organizations Partner to Facilitate Green Technology Future for San Diego
A panel of four executives from different community organizations gave an overview of the emerging green economy and green jobs availability in the greater San Diego area.
-- Holly Lepre, Vice President of Clean Tech San Diego
-- Mark Cafferty, San Diego Work Force Partnership
-- Irene Stillings, Director for the California Center for Sustainable Energy
-- Philip Jordan, Director of the San Diego & Imperial County Center of Excellence
These organizations are partnering to create the funding, training and networking opportunities that could transform San Diego into a center of Green Technology.
Organizing to Capture as Much of the Federal CREB Money as Possible
Clean Tech San Diego is a two-years-old nonprofit organization, and a brainchild of San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders who intended it as a road to economic recovery.
Holly Lepre, Vice President of Clean Tech San Diego said that one of the things San Diego has is a long tradition in cooperation. About 15 years ago the Biochem and Biotech boom came to the region, and the community got together to make sure that they educated the workforce that needed to join up with the 550 biotech companies that are here now.
“We want to work on the success that we’ve seen [in San Diego] in the Biotech industry and the Life Science industry and replicate that around clean energy,” Lepre said.
One of the things Clean Tech San Diego has worked on recently is to get funds from the Clean Renewable Energy Bond (CREB). The bond entails an 800 million dollar allocation to municipalities that want to implement renewable energy technology.
“And so what Clean Tech San Diego did was organize the region so that we could try to capture as much of this federal money as possible,” Lepre said.
By forming partnerships with organizations such as the California Center for Sustainable Energy, the San Diego Foundation, and a number of pro bono services and service providers, Clean Tech San Diego has created a big working group to help the municipalities to apply for this money.
“And when that money comes through, if it comes through, they can then start to employ these renewable technologies and there is going to be a workforce demand,” Lepre said.
“I think we can look back at history and see that we have a pretty good track record, and I think it is fair to say that we will have the same success around clean technology,” she said.
“We could be looking at the Silicon Valley of green energy”
Mark Cafferty from San Diego Work Force Partnership said, “We are doing the best we can to train you and get you ready for those jobs.”
San Diego Work Force Partnership is a one-stop career center run by federal dollars. There are six of them around San Diego county, and they have been here for 35 years.
Cafferty said, “Right now we have training partnerships with all of San Diego’s community colleges, the extended studies campuses, as well as our three great public universities—Cal State San Marcos, San Diego State University, and UCSD extension—where we have taken some of the funding that we’ve received from the federal stimulus and put it out to those organizations so that they could create, expand, or grow green programs, energy efficiency programs. They are all hoping to do some of the training that people are going to need that will help them at this time to take that next step, trying to get ourselves ready for an economic recovery.”
Cafferty said that San Diego has a very special opportunity, and that is Imperial Valley [to the east] which only has about 150,000 people.
“We could be looking at the Silicon Valley of green energy,” Cafferty said. “Imperial Valley has endless access to sun. They have much better access to water than we do which is where the Colorado River comes into San Diego. And they have endless access to wind.
“They are starting to take the steps out there to create some very interesting economic opportunities for individuals and businesses. But in order to do that they are going to need workers. We are going to need to figure out some way for Imperial to start to work together with us.
“We have people, we have intellectual capital. They have an awful lot of opportunity out there, and by working together we could really see a region that grows and becomes a giant on the renewable energy and green front.”
Work, Live, and Use Resources Like There Is a Tomorrow
Irene Stillings is the Director for the California Center for Sustainable Energy, a nonprofit organization in its 13th year. The Center puts on about 150 free workshops on various aspects of energy and energy efficiency, renewable energy like solar and wind, green building, energy transportation, alternative energy fuels, and in that broad category called climate change. It also offers jobs as well as volunteer positions and networking opportunities through a new online green career network site.
Stillings said, “We work with the community to make sure that we are using our natural resources and our energy resources in such a way that they will still be there for our children and our grandchildren.
“My definition of sustainability is that we work, and we live, and we use our resources like we believe there is a tomorrow. I have nine grandchildren, they are the ones I work for.
“This movement has really been around for a long time. I’ve been working in this business for 35 years. I don’t think it’s a revolution. I think what’s happening is that we are finally waking up. We are waking up to realize the precarious state of the environment,” Stillings said.
Stillings said there is a lot of work out there that is now coming about in particular because of the stimulus funds that are coming and because there is a greater interest and concern about going green. She said there is a huge opportunity for people who are schooled and have become knowledgeable in green building techniques, to make the homes more efficient. She believes there is huge opportunity unrolling in the future months, but so far, what we are seeing now as real activity is more in retrofit than new construction, she said.
Stillings said they also see a huge opportunity in education because so many people don’t know. “We need to let them know why they should change, and then we have to help them make the change,” she said.
Stillings recommends that besides exploring the internet, people should also see if they can volunteer with one of the many nonprofit organizations, and try to be out there in the community a lot and attend seminars and free events.
She said, “We put a lot of energy into education and events. One of them is coming up, the Solar Energy Week on Sept. 27 to Oct. 3. It will have a whole week of activities related to solar energy. Come out, get educated, and learn. And that’s where you can do your networking and you can meet people of like mind.”
Stillings summarized what it takes to get a job: “Have the right attitude, have some passion, make sure that you have some level of knowledge, do volunteer work if you can, and network, network, network. Networking is going to get you a job!”
Green Career Network Online—Check for Jobs and Post Your Resume
John Walker, a former volunteer at the California Center for Sustainable Energy, just turned contractor, recently started the Green Career network online.
Walker said, “We have taken all the career sources that the speakers here today are talking about and are building a web site to get all of that information in one place; that is the first purpose. And the second is to tap into the employers that have green jobs. So we are partnering with jobs.com.
“So you can go to our web site ( www.energycenter.org ) to check what the job opportunities are and also post your resume on the site because that’s where we are going to direct the employers so they can find people who have the qualifications and desire to work in the green industry.”
This Green Movement Has Surpassed Anyone’s Wildest Expectations
The San Diego & Imperial County Center of Excellence at Cuyamaca College is one of ten centers throughout the State, and part of the California Community College Economic and Workforce Development (EWD) program. Together they form a statewide network for the delivery of education and training services to businesses, workers, and jobseekers in key growth industries and new technologies.
Philip Jordan, an environmental attorney and the Director of the The San Diego & Imperial County Center of Excellence said, “My work is studying the green economy. The Center of Excellence is funded by the California community colleges. We are in charge of studying occupations of high growth to assist community colleges to make better course decisions.”
He said a report is soon going to be out to give a statewide overview of all the different types of occupations to expect from the greening of the economy.
Green jobs are available in a wide range of sectors, including: green building, bio fuels, transportation fuels, hazardous waste, automotive, water & waste water. “Landscaping is a big one right now because of the water shortages,” Jordan said.
Equally wide is the range of occupations available in these sectors: R&D technicians, solar panel installers, designers and sales people, installers for water heaters and heating and cooling systems, inspectors, and geothermal techs.
Jordan said, “Compliance analysts is a big one to navigate through legislative regulations, and 67% of employers said you have to be able to get on a roof.”
As far as training goes, Jordan said, “We have something for everyone. For some of these jobs very little training is required beyond industry experience, others require a bachelor’s degree.”
Jordan said he wanted to acknowledge Senator Ted Kennedy in whose office he worked, for everything Kennedy did for the environmental movement, and for having had an impact on his (Jordan’s) career.
He said after leaving Senator Kennedy’s office he went back to law school. “I thought, get a degree in something else, because the environment is important but there is no money in it, and the best days of the environmental movement are behind us. That’s what they were all saying.”
“But obviously we have seen that’s changed. And now there are actually tremendous opportunities in the green economy and those opportunities are growing every day. Many people would say that this kind of green movement has surpassed anyone’s wildest expectations,” Jordan continued.
According to Jordan, Solar PV (photovoltaic systems) installation has seen over 100% growth while most industries are contracting slightly or showing almost no growth. In addition, the military received the approval to put in roughly 2.7 mega watts of solar power. “So we are looking at absolute solar explosion!” Jordan said.
Companies Have Difficulty Hiring People With Experience
Curiously, Jordan said that employers are having difficulty finding people who have experience in the green sector, who have installed energy efficient systems.
“Can you imagine with this economy and all of the unemployment we have, we have employers reporting greater than 70% difficulty finding qualified people to hire. It’s almost unbelievable. So if you are looking at 20-25% or so growth and 70% of the employers saying, I can’t find the people I’m looking for, something has kind of gone wrong. Either we as training providers aren’t providing the right training or we are not doing enough to connect well those who are trained to those opportunities,” he said.
Jordan said he was very encouraged to see that the California Center for Sustainable Energy is taking the lead with this Green Career Network. “And of course the Workforce Partnership and Clean Tech San Diego with their expertise and leadership, I think we are moving in the right direction,” he said.
Information about the organizations in this article can be found on their websites:
Clean Tech San Diego
www.cleantechsandiego.org
San Diego Work Force Partnership
www.SanDiegoAtWork.com
California Center for Sustainable Energy
www.energycenter.org
Green Career Network
http://energycenter.org/index.php/about-us/green-career-network
San Diego & Imperial County Center of Excellence
www.sdicoe.net
