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One key to reaching New York’s climate commitments? Training a green jobs workforce

The Cornell Cooperative Extension's PowerHouse is a mobile exhibit on ways to reduce home energy use. Participants in the organization's Energy Warriors green jobs training program toured it in March to learn more about insulation and reducing building emissions.
Rebecca Redelmeier / WSKG News
The Cornell Cooperative Extension's PowerHouse is a mobile exhibit on ways to reduce energy use inside a home. Participants in the organization's Energy Warriors green jobs training program toured it in March to learn more about insulation and reducing building emissions.

New York has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by upgrading buildings and making them more energy efficient.

But that’s work that can’t be done without a skilled workforce — one that must be rapidly scaled up if the state and local municipalities are to meet their climate commitments.

“There are a lot of jobs, and there’s going to be more jobs coming, and there’s going to be [a] lot of demand for this work,” said Jack Wright, an energy educator at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Tompkins County. He spoke in front of a group gathered earlier this month as part of the organization’s green jobs training program.

“You all have picked the perfect time to be getting into this field,” Wright told the participants as they examined a display on different kinds of insulation.

The program, called Energy Warriors, is a response to this growing need for a robust green energy workforce, while providing a training pathway for those facing barriers to employment or who want to transition their careers. It’s set to equip participants with environmental literacy and hard skills for jobs integral to the area’s green energy transition.

These skills have become increasingly sought after as the state works towards meeting its green energy goals. New York’s climate act requires the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030. Currently, buildings are the state’s highest-emitting sector, and make up around one third of its total emissions.

In Ithaca, the timeline to reduce buildings' energy use is even more urgent. The city’s Green New Deal, passed in 2019, outlines a commitment to decarbonize all of its buildings by 2030.

The result is a need for skilled workers in the green energy sector. The state energy authority, NYSERDA, estimates the clean energy economy will create 172,000 new jobs by 2030 — a 55% increase in the clean energy workforce since 2019.

Participants in the CCE training are eligible for stipends and gain access to further training programs after they graduate.

Energy Warriors participants learn about different ways to save energy inside a home, like improving insulation.
Rebecca Redelmeier / WSKG News
Energy Warriors participants learn about different ways to save energy inside a home, like improving insulation.

“It’s hands-on, I love working with my hands,” said Zutiyah Graham, who has participated in the program for the past few months. “We get to help people save energy, [it’s] more efficient for them. It’s actually a great opportunity.”

Energy efficiency is exactly what Graham and other participants learned about during the session on insulation and other energy-saving strategies. Just outside of the CCE building, participants toured the PowerHouse, a tiny-home that the organization uses as a mobile exhibit. There, displays on different kinds of insulation and power sources provided energy-saving tips, like installing heat pumps and fixing leaks that let in outside air.

Graham hopes to land a job in this kind of work after graduating from the Energy Warriors training. “I plan on doing HVAC. I plan on still doing weatherization. I just want to broaden my horizons with this,” she added.

The program is closely connected with other green jobs training programs in the area, including one run by BlocPower, the company Ithaca has partnered with to manage the electrification program laid out in its Green New Deal.

The timing for this program is ideal, said Keegan Young. He graduated from the Energy Warriors in 2022 and is now involved in training future cohorts.

“Once more and more businesses and buildings around the area catch on and catch up with this, we’re going to start creating the workforce to be able to do that,” Young said. “And [we’ll] help make Ithaca more green.”