Climate change is causing shifts in the economy across all industries, requiring workers with new skills and capabilities. Yet, there is a gap between the demand for a skilled workforce for green jobs and the number of people prepared for these opportunities.
While philanthropy frequently funds workforce readiness initiatives, there is not yet a strong focus on preparing individuals with the skills necessary for the expanding number of green sector jobs. To build an inclusive, resilient economy, more workers will need to develop and strengthen the green skills increasingly in demand. This includes people of color, women, justice-impacted individuals, those financially less advantaged and other frequently overlooked populations.
On Earth Day 2022, the Ares Charitable Foundation launched Climate-Resilient Employees for a Sustainable Tomorrow (“CREST”), a five-year, $25 million initiative that aims to close the gap between employer demand for a skilled workforce for green jobs and the number of people ready for these opportunities. CREST supports Jobs for the Future (“JFF”), World Resources Institute (“WRI”) and WRI India to prepare and reskill individuals for the growing green economy so that they can better care for themselves, their families and their communities while helping safeguard the environment.
In the U.S., CREST is poised to prepare at least 25,000 people to enter quality green jobs and reach at least 100,000 individuals through exposure and/or training. In India, CREST is underway to reskill at least 1,000 micro, small and medium-sized enterprise workers in sustainability best practices. CREST is also generating evidence-based guidance for more equitable global supply chains to protect workers’ jobs through training and education, including to help mitigate supply chain disruptions.
Through CREST, the JFF Jobs Challenge is directly investing nearly $5 million in U.S. communities to develop regional quality green job strategies to help ward against their specific climate threats. For New Orleans, that threat is the increase in the number and intensity of storms.
A low-lying city subject to flooding and rising sea levels, New Orleans’ infrastructure is old and in need of upgrades – especially in poorer neighborhoods of color – to counter the effects of climate change. As a Jobs Challenge grantee, the Greater New Orleans Foundation ("GNOF") partners with local community organizations to develop a workforce prepared to address these issues, including by tapping the talent of residents within the city’s most impacted communities.
Thrive New Orleans partners with GNOF to deliver green workforce training. Several of the organization’s initiatives aim to direct stormwater away from challenged neighborhoods through green construction and landscaping projects. Participants in Thrive’s training program benefit from hands-on learning and experience that prepare them to earn certifications for in-demand green jobs. In addition, they develop and strengthen the digital skills that employers require and expect. The earn-as-you-learn program pays an hourly wage and helps connect program graduates to local employers.
Organizations like Thrive exemplify the intrinsic connection between job skilling and climate change, helping people become more self-sufficient while also helping drive a strong economy and protect the planet.