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Grace Maruska

Brittney Donovan

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Building the Clean Energy Workforce in New Jersey: Apprenticeships as a Pathway to Good-Paying, In-Demand Jobs

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English

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by Brittney Donovan and Grace Maruska

In honor of the 10th anniversary of National Apprenticeship Week, we wanted to illustrate how apprenticeships can help meet the needs of the labor market related to the clean-energy transition in New Jersey. Commonly referred to as green jobs, occupations associated with the clean-energy transition are largely concentrated in environmental infrastructure and energy efficiency and require extensive, hands-on training and technical skills.[1] Recent studies by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey show the role that apprenticeships can play in providing workers with the necessary knowledge, skills, and expertise to help stakeholders carry out the clean-energy transition in New Jersey.[2]Apprenticeships are a preferable means of education and training, as compared to other training arrangements, because they are paid and offer an on-ramp to career pathways, particularly for disadvantaged groups often shut out of high-quality, good-paying employment opportunities.

Released in spring 2024, New Jersey’s Energy-Efficiency Workforce Needs, Infrastructure, and Equity Assessment includes strategic recommendations around expanding federally registered apprenticeships in the energy-efficiency sector in New Jersey. We emphasize that employers work closely with education and training providers to ensure that apprentices learn the right knowledge, develop the right skills, and earn the right credentials to meet industry needs. Collaboration is deeply important given the changing nature of the energy-efficiency sector, particularly technologies around decarbonization (e.g., electric heat pumps). We also urge education and training providers to recruit potential students from disadvantaged groups (e.g., women, people of color, low-income communities, formerly incarcerated individuals, people with disabilities, etc.) to address energy equity.[3] These apprenticeship opportunities provide on-ramps to career pathways related to the clean-energy transition in New Jersey.

Researchers at the Heldrich Center recently completed a workforce planning analysis for New Jersey’s Priority Climate Action Plan that recommends creating apprenticeships centered on career readiness and opportunities for youth across six priority areas: buildings, electric generation, halogenated gases, food waste, natural and working lands, and transportation. We propose using the New Jersey Apprenticeship Network — with its existing partnerships — to create new apprenticeships geared toward the priority areas. Examples include training electrician apprentices to install chargers for electric vehicles or solar photovoltaic technologies (i.e., solar panels); heating, ventilation, and air conditioning technician apprentices to use the latest heat-pump technologies; and farming apprentices to work the land. Such opportunities could be encouraged among youth in secondary schools to facilitate clear education-to-career pipelines in New Jersey.

These recent reports demonstrate how stakeholders involved with the clean-energy transition can use apprenticeships to provide the future workforce with the necessary knowledge, skills, and expertise. With targeted recruitment among disadvantaged groups, these on-ramp opportunities can help ensure equitable access to high-quality, good-paying green jobs as New Jersey transitions to clean energy.

[1] https://www.nj.gov/governor/climateaction/documents/CGE%20Roadmap.pdf

[2] Stakeholders include employers; education and training providers; community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, and other nonprofits; and unions.

[3] Energy equity is the fair distribution of benefits from transitioning to clean energy, especially employment opportunities, to disadvantaged groups and historically underserved communities.

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New blog post examines how apprenticeships can help meet the needs of the labor market related to the clean-energy transition in New Jersey.

New Jersey’s Energy-Efficiency Workforce Needs, Infrastructure, and Equity Assessment

heldrich_robb — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 13:20:58 +0000

New Jersey’s Energy-Efficiency Workforce Needs, Infrastructure, and Equity Assessment

Published Date

June 11, 2024

heldrich_robb Tue, 06/11/2024 - 13:20

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Announcement

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Energy_Efficiency_Workforce.jpeg

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New Jersey’s Energy-Efficiency Workforce Needs, Infrastructure, and Equity Assessment

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English

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New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy’s Energy Master Plan and Executive Order 315 set a goal to reduce fossil fuel usage to 100% clean energy by 2035. The Executive Order also called for implementing strategic recommendations from the New Jersey Council on the Green Economy, including targeted job creation, educational ecosystem alignment, and piloted workforce initiatives. Understanding the energy-efficiency sector — its current landscape, challenges, and areas for growth — is critical given these efforts, especially ensuring commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion in workforce development infrastructure.

The Heldrich Center is pleased to release a new report, New Jersey’s Energy-Efficiency Workforce Needs, Infrastructure, and Equity Assessment, which details the findings from this study. The report presents 12 strategies for stakeholders to implement based on eight findings supported by evidence from labor market and job posting analyses, a survey, and interviews. By strengthening workforce development infrastructure, these strategies can support a diverse, skilled, and equitable workforce in ways that help New Jersey achieve its clean-energy goals.

The report was written by Heldrich Center staff members Brittney Donovan, research project coordinator; Grace Maruska, research project coordinator; Sahar Sherwani, graduate research assistant; and Stephanie Walsh, Ph.D., assistant director. The Heldrich Center, Built Environment and Green Building Group, and Center for Urban Policy Research are all based at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

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Presents findings and recommendations from a study designed to better understand and document community needs and areas for growth in training, recruiting, hiring, and retaining students, trainees, and workers for New Jersey's energy-efficiency workforce.

New Jersey’s Energy-Efficiency Workforce Needs, Infrastructure, and Equity Assessment

heldrich_robb — Tue, 11 Jun 2024 13:10:03 +0000

New Jersey’s Energy-Efficiency Workforce Needs, Infrastructure, and Equity Assessment

Topic

Research Publications & Reports

heldrich_robb Tue, 06/11/2024 - 13:10

Published Date

June 11, 2024

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Related Authors

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Attachments

New_Jerseys_Energy_Efficiency_Workforce_Needs_Infrastructure_ and_Equity_Assessment.pdf (12.69 MB)

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The Heldrich Center, in partnership with the Built Environment and Green Building Group at the Center for Urban Policy Research, recently conducted a study to better understand and document community needs and areas for growth in training, recruiting, hiring, and retaining students, trainees, and workers from diverse backgrounds for the state’s energy-efficiency workforce; and to produce strategies for improving workforce development infrastructure for stakeholders to consider. This report details the findings from this study, including 12 strategies for stakeholders to implement based on eight findings supported by evidence from labor market and job posting analyses, a survey, and interviews.

Tagline

Findings and recommendations from a study designed to better understand and document community needs and areas for growth in training, recruiting, hiring, and retaining students, trainees, and workers for New Jersey's energy-efficiency workforce.

Green Jobs in New Jersey’s Energy Sector: Strategies for Building a World-Class Workforce for the State’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Industries

heldrich_robb — Mon, 26 Apr 2021 14:55:54 +0000

Green Jobs in New Jersey’s Energy Sector: Strategies for Building a World-Class Workforce for the State’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Industries

Topic

Research Publications & Reports

heldrich_robb Mon, 04/26/2021 - 14:55

Published Date

July 1, 2009

Type

Work Category

Research Products

Attachments

Green_Jobs_Energy_Sector_Report.pdf (473.67 KB)

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Identifies the key skills workers need to fill green jobs in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors. Also also proposes instituting an industry-specific talent network, and provides recommendations for state agencies, workforce and community groups, and educational institutions seeking to build a flexible pipeline of skilled green workers to meet employer demand.

Evaluation of the Newark/Essex County, New Jersey Construction Careers Consortium Pre-Apprenticeship Program

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:07 +0000

Evaluation of the Newark/Essex County, New Jersey Construction Careers Consortium Pre-Apprenticeship Program

Topic

Program Evaluation

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Published Date

January 1, 2006

Status

Funded By

New Jersey Institute for Social Justice

Work Category

Evaluation of the Newark/Essex Construction Careers Consortium

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From 2006 to 2007, the Heldrich Center conducted an evaluation of a program in Essex County, New Jersey that prepares women and minorities for apprenticeships in the construction trades. The evaluation included both a process evaluation (including structured interviews with stakeholders and program staff and focus groups and questionnaires with participants) and an outcome evaluation. The center used individual-level state administrative Unemployment Insurance wage records and data on basic skill levels to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in preparing students for careers in construction. The center also used probabilistic matching techniques to create a comparison group from New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development Employment Services administrative data.

Products:

Findings from the Evaluation of the Newark/Essex Construction Careers Consortium

Tagline

Evaluation of program designed to prepare women and and minorities for apprenticeships in the construction trades.

Evaluation of the Registered Nurse Transitions into Practice Nurse Residency Model for Long-term Care

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:05 +0000

Evaluation of the Registered Nurse Transitions into Practice Nurse Residency Model for Long-term Care

Topic

Program Evaluation

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Published Date

January 1, 2014

Related Authors

Laurie Harrington

Status

Funded By

A grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services through the Rutgers School of Nursing

Work Category

(OLD) Related Experts

Laurie Harrington

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Excerpt

The Heldrich Center evaluated the Registered Nurse Transitions into Practice Nurse Residency Model for Long-term Care (LTC), a pilot training program at the Rutgers School of Nursing whose goal was to educate 50 preceptors and 50 nurse residents that are employed by LTC facilities using the Nurse of the Future Core Competencies and Geriatric Competencies. The center drew upon its expertise in issues related to workforce development and health care workforce issues to develop a research plan. Between 2014 and 2016, the Heldrich Center collected data through pre-and-post program surveys, individual interviews, focus groups, and the analysis of participant data collected by the Rutgers School of Nursing.

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Evaluation of a college pilot nurse training program.

Evaluation of the PepsiCo Achieving Change Together Employment Innovation Initiative

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:05 +0000

Evaluation of the PepsiCo Achieving Change Together Employment Innovation Initiative

Topic

Disability Employment

Program Evaluation

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Published Date

December 11, 2015

Status

Funded By

A grant from the Kessler Foundation and the Poses Foundation.

Work Category

(OLD) Related Experts

Laurie Harrington

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Excerpt

From 2014 to 2016, the Heldrich Center conducted an implementation evaluation for the Kessler Foundation and the Poses Foundation of the Achieving Change Together (ACT) Employment Innovation Initiative, a corporate disability and inclusion project designed to increase the number of qualified employees with disabilities working for PepsiCo, and to improve their employment outcomes and career experiences. With assistance from the national not-for-profit Ability Beyond, Inc., PepsiCo implemented the ACT initiative in eight pilot sites across the nation, with specific components of the model replicated at each site. These components were designed to improve the application, screening, ranking, interviewing, hiring, and onboarding processes as well as retention at PepsiCo. The Heldrich Center conducted a process evaluation of the program and collected data through employee and hiring manager surveys, interviews with program operators as well as through the analysis of participant data collected by Ability Beyond.

Tagline

Evaluation of a corporate project designed to increase the number of employees with disabilities working for PepsiCo.

A Workforce Supply and Demand Analysis for the Pharmaceutical and Medical Technology Industry

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:04 +0000

A Workforce Supply and Demand Analysis for the Pharmaceutical and Medical Technology Industry

Topic

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Status

Funded By

HealthCare Institute of New Jersey and its member companies

Work Category

Looking Ahead: A Workforce Supply and Demand Analysis for New Jersey's Pharmaceutical and Medical Technology Industries

(OLD) Related Work

http://heldrich.rutgers.edu/node/385/edit?destination=admin/content

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In 2001, the Heldrich Center worked with the HealthCare Institute of New Jersey and the state's pharmaceutical companies to perform a workforce supply and demand analysis to understand the emerging and long-term workforce needs of New Jersey's pharmaceutical and medical technology industry. The industry, at that time, employed more than 66,000 individuals in the state and was considered one of the leading employers in the state.

Product:

Tagline

Analysis to understand the emerging and long-term workforce needs of New Jersey's pharmaceutical and medical technology industry.

The Global Logistics Supply Chain

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:02 +0000

The Global Logistics Supply Chain

Topic

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Published Date

January 1, 2007

Status

Funded By

National Science Foundation

Work Category

Career and Education Awareness

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Excerpt

From 2007 to 2008, the Heldrich Center and Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations at Rutgers University studied the effect of information technology on the logistics industry and its workforce, with a particular focus on the Port of New York and New Jersey. The study identified how the logistics chain's rapid transformation restructured its labor markets. The research team tested and confirmed three hypotheses: (1) Wages and working conditions throughout the product supply chain have deteriorated, (2) public policy and organized labor play a role in influencing employer choices as to whether they take the "high" or "low" road to competitive success, and (3) shortages in the labor market for highly educated workers in the logistics chain have emerged, putting them in a position to demand high wages and desirable working conditions.

Tagline

Study on the effects of information technology on the logistics industry and its workforce.

Transit Virtual Career Network

admin — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 23:17:01 +0000

Transit Virtual Career Network

Topic

admin Mon, 10/26/2020 - 23:17

Published Date

January 1, 2012

Status

Funded By

A grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration.

Work Category