http://www.triplepundit.com/2009/03/a-vital-piece-missing-in-the-american-reinvestment-and-recovery-act/ Business, Better. Since 2005 Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:33:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 http://www.triplepundit.com/2009/03/a-vital-piece-missing-in-the-american-reinvestment-and-recovery-act/comment-page-1/#comment-8990 Dave Meyer Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:14:38 +0000 http://www.triplepundit.com/wordpress/2009/03/a-vital-piece-missing-in-the-american-reinvestment-and-recovery-act/#comment-8990 Brilliant indeed and a vital piece of the "green jobs" puzzle. As we all know there has been great debate over what constitutes a "green job", especially since the Obama Administration has made this a key feature of its economic stimulus package. Even in states like California, Oregon and Washington, policy makers and labor groups have boldly recognized the nexus between climate change and jobs and are developing vocational initiatives designed to get people back to work performing jobs and developing projects that promote environmental quality and sustainable communities. It's been my observation as a seasoned sustainability practitioner that what is lacking to date is a "boots to the ground" work force that is trained and certified as green workers and the jobs infrastructure to support long term growth of small businesses (like the SBA). There are a myriad of programs that offer targeted skill development and retraining for traditional tradespersons into a retained work force. But it is paramount that in order for skilled trades to effectively 'brand" themselves to gain those higher paying jobs that there be concentrated, collaborative programs in place to provide the education, certification and immediate job entry and small business opportunities necessary to make meaningful contributions to the economy and to support individual growth and and professional development. Collaborative efforts between community colleges, university, workforce education, organized labor industry organizations, and federal agencies like the SBA and similar state run agencies are vital to capture stimulus funds in a meaningful and productive way. dmeyer@seeds-global.com Brilliant indeed and a vital piece of the “green jobs” puzzle. As we all know there has been great debate over what constitutes a “green job”, especially since the Obama Administration has made this a key feature of its economic stimulus package. Even in states like California, Oregon and Washington, policy makers and labor groups have boldly recognized the nexus between climate change and jobs and are developing vocational initiatives designed to get people back to work performing jobs and developing projects that promote environmental quality and sustainable communities.
It’s been my observation as a seasoned sustainability practitioner that what is lacking to date is a “boots to the ground” work force that is trained and certified as green workers and the jobs infrastructure to support long term growth of small businesses (like the SBA).
There are a myriad of programs that offer targeted skill development and retraining for traditional tradespersons into a retained work force. But it is paramount that in order for skilled trades to effectively ‘brand” themselves to gain those higher paying jobs that there be concentrated, collaborative programs in place to provide the education, certification and immediate job entry and small business opportunities necessary to make meaningful contributions to the economy and to support individual growth and and professional development.
Collaborative efforts between community colleges, university, workforce education, organized labor industry organizations, and federal agencies like the SBA and similar state run agencies are vital to capture stimulus funds in a meaningful and productive way.
dmeyer@seeds-global.com

]]> http://www.triplepundit.com/2009/03/a-vital-piece-missing-in-the-american-reinvestment-and-recovery-act/comment-page-1/#comment-8989 Nick Aster Thu, 26 Mar 2009 15:19:48 +0000 http://www.triplepundit.com/wordpress/2009/03/a-vital-piece-missing-in-the-american-reinvestment-and-recovery-act/#comment-8989 This is a brilliant suggestion - it's obvious to anyone who's thought deeply about the current economic situation that it's unsustainable practices that put us here. The time is now to invest in the future businesses who will get us out of this pickle and onto a new, green economy. This is a brilliant suggestion – it’s obvious to anyone who’s thought deeply about the current economic situation that it’s unsustainable practices that put us here. The time is now to invest in the future businesses who will get us out of this pickle and onto a new, green economy.

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