Those looking for green jobs have a powerful resource in
RENEW
(Renewable Energy Networks Empowering Workers), a program that trains
Minneapolis and St. Paul residents for green jobs and places them in
living-wage positions.
Kicked off in April 2010, the program has
already had nearly 600 participants, with 350 of them earning
credentials in green-related fields, and 240 gaining employment as a
result of the training.
The success of RENEW led Minneapolis
Mayor R. T. Rybak and Saint Paul Council Member Lee Helgen to highlight
the program at a recent hiring fair, held at the Dunwoody College of
Technology.
Funded by a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department
of Labor, RENEW is a unique program, thanks to its strong focus on
green-economy skills, notes Cathy Polasky, Director of Economic
Development for the City of Minneapolis.
"Having these type of
credentials is important, because it allows employers to have a tangible
measure of what a prospective employee knows," she says. Even some
employers that are not usually recognized as green companies have been
eager to talk to program participants, Polasky says. For example,
Doubletree Hotels is very interested in those who have learned
environmentally-friendly tactics for housekeeping and maintenance, which
allow the hotel chain to cut down on water use and streamline its
operations.
Seventy different training tracks are offered through
RENEW, with 12 training entities partnering with the program.
Community-based service providers are also part of the effort, helping
to inform low-income workers of the opportunities provided by the
program.
Although the program's funding was a one-time award,
Polasky and others are hoping that the Feds will come out with "a
sequel" to keep the training rolling along.
"There's been such remarkable success with this, that we're really hoping to keep it going," she says.
Source: Cathy Polasky, City of Minneapolis
Writer: Elizabeth Millard