Green Jobs Training Prepares Students for Career Success

Kevin Coyle and JFF's Maria Flynn authored this op-ed about opportunities for low-skilled workers in the emerging green economy. It appears in the October/November 2010 edition of Community College Journal. CLICK HERE for full issue (article on pp. 40-43 for subscribers only). The following is an excerpt:

"The emerging green economy will create not just jobs, but—if done right—career opportunities across the United States as green manufacturing, green products, and green services fuel demand for workers at all skill levels.

"Sixty-one percent of the members of the Association of Energy Engineers report a growing shortage of qualified professionals in the field, and 37 percent say they plan to retire in the next 10 years. According to the Center for American Progress, clean energy will be one of the largest industries in the country by 2020, valued as high as $2.3 trillion per year.

"At the center of this unprecedented opportunity are the nation’s nearly 1,200 community and technical colleges."