Preparing America's Workforce for Jobs in the Green Economy: A Case for Technical Literacy

By Kate Gordon, Louis Soares, and Stephen Steigleder | August 27, 2012

PRINT:
• 
SHARE:
• 
• 
• 
• 

The emerging clean energy economy is already creating millions of jobs and generating trillions of dollars in economic activity across the globe. One characteristic of these jobs is that they span industries and occupations and provide opportunities for low-, middle-, and high-skill workers.

As with other industries, though, the highest-quality jobs in this new clean energy sector will be in more knowledge-intensive occupations. These jobs run the gamut from research and development to engineering, architecture, advanced manufacturing, construction, and operations and maintenance. Despite their differences, though, these jobs all have two things in common: they require workers to have a solid foundation in basic technical skills, including both academic and practical skills; and they often require post-secondary credentials that are specific to the particular clean energy job in question.

Read more here.

This article was originally published in Duke Forum for Law and Social Change.