State and local governments looking to deliver on the promise of clean energy infrastructure to their communities must not overlook one key component in doing so: registered apprenticeships.
Recent economic investments, including the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA, will result in a clean energy construction boom and increased need for construction workers. Smartly, the IRA includes an apprenticeship incentive, a provision stipulating that building contractors can only receive the full amount of a production tax credit if they meet employment standards such as ensuring registered apprentices work a set percentage of hours on IRA projects. The IRA’s apprenticeship goals are a creative way to connect a diverse pipeline of trained workers with good jobs, while ensuring that clean energy goals are completed successfully and on time. By pairing these goals with support services and recruitment, enforcement capacity and policies that advance job quality and equity, state and local governments can make sure the employment opportunities stemming from the IRA work for all Americans.
The above excerpt was originally published in Route Fifty.
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