Adult learning meets the green economy: Lessons from a green jobs education project
Adult education for green jobs is successful, but basic skills are a prerequisite
The purpose of this study was to analyze the challenges and issues associated with implementing a model for green jobs education. The study reviewed a green jobs training program at the Institute for Career Development (ICD) that assists learners in entering the green economy. The ICD was created in 1989 as a negotiated benefit for eligible members of the United Steelworkers Union in order to provide educational services, especially portable skills. The new Green Jobs Education project, which was the focus of this study, was designed to be consistent with the ICD’s Vision of Learning and guiding principles, and the training was delivered under the local direction of ICD’s field coordinators. The Green Jobs Education Project was an outgrowth of the Green Jobs Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 2007.
The green jobs training program provided training and placement for workers in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. The ICD focused on training a large number of steelworkers in four geographic areas including Northwest Indiana, Northeastern Ohio, Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Western New York. The aim of the training was to “prepare workers for, and place them into, sustainable wage jobs in the green economy.” In each region training differed due to factors including emerging job opportunities in the area. Participants in the study included people currently employed as well as unemployed and dislocated workers, with the aim to provide the training opportunity to as many incumbent steelworkers in the area as possible.
This study found that workers who obtain a certification which includes nationally recognized credentials “have a better chance of obtaining jobs whether or not the job requires certification,” rather than, for example, simply a certificate of participation. Another finding came after ICD discovered that many of the participants who dropped out of the training program, failed or repeated the training often did not possess the expected “unstipulated prerequisite skills,” including math skills and test-taking skills.
The study provided evidence that green jobs training programs can provide opportunities to remove barriers for participants to learn green-specific skills and advance these individuals towards green careers, however, fundamental literacy, math, and computer skills remain essential to successful training and employment.
Citation
Wagner, C., (2013). Adult learning meets the green economy: Lessons from a green jobs education project. Adult Learning, 24(1),
