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May 17, 2024
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Workforce development is critical to the clean energy future
Por Invenergy
The fastest-growing profession in the United States isn’t what you might expect. You won’t find IT specialist, software developer, or doctor occupying the top spot. The number one job: wind turbine service technician.
From 2022 to 2032, the demand for wind technician jobs is expected to surge by nearly 45%, more than nurse practitioners, data scientists, statisticians, and other fast-growing careers.1
But here’s the issue: between 2022 and 2023, the share of job postings requiring at least one “green skill,” or the expertise necessary to perform the job responsibilities required in sustainable professions, was nearly double the share of “green talent” entering the workforce.2 So, it’s clear that the increased demand to fill clean energy jobs isn’t years away; it’s here, and we need to increase hiring to meet it.
Around the world, clean energy jobs will power the economies of the future. In 2023, the clean energy industry generated 10% of overall global GDP growth, the equivalent of an adding an economy the size of the Czech Republic to global economic output.3 Legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is further catalyzing growth in the United States. Experts expect the IRA to create 9 million jobs over the next decade.4 However, for the clean energy industry to take advantage of the IRA’s promise, there must be a greater focus on workforce development.
Unlocking the potential of the clean energy industry
Invenergy understands the need to address the gap between new clean energy jobs and the qualified workers needed to fill them. In 2024, we announced a three-part workforce development goal to tackle this challenge.
To build the energy workforce of the future, Invenergy has committed to:
- Expand our training infrastructure: By the end of 2025, Invenergy Services, the operations arm of Invenergy, will increase its total training capacity by 200% when compared to a 2023 baseline. Invenergy will provide a safe, supportive and engaging environment for technicians to complete hands-on training with equipment. As Invenergy grows its training capacity, it will be able to flexibly adjust class size to meet the growing demand for skilled technicians serving Invenergy Services clients.
- Maximize local hiring: By the end of 2025, Invenergy will ensure that a majority of staff at Invenergy-owned and operated projects are from the surrounding local community, so that project communities are reaping direct economic benefits.
- Promote an equitable and just transition: By 2030, Invenergy and its affiliates will facilitate training for 2,500 traditionally underserved workers. These efforts will ensure individuals in disadvantaged communities have the support that they need to enroll in clean energy job training, complete training and enter a career with family-sustaining wages.
Invenergy’s workforce development goal will complement our existing efforts with the company’s Impact and diversity, equity and inclusion partners. Invenergy Impact partners include organizations like KidWind, Chicago Scholars Foundation and GRID Alternatives, which all help to create the energy workforce of the future.
Preparing the next generation of clean energy talent
As part of our Invenergy Impact, we aim to teach, inspire, train and attract the next generation of clean energy talent to ensure the next generation of workers represents a variety of backgrounds, skills and ideas. Every year, Invenergy puts that aspiration into action through work with our Impact partners.
In 2023, Invenergy continued its work with KidWind, an organization that works to facilitate the exploration of a world powered by clean energy for K-12 students and teachers. Invenergy hosted three in-person and virtual workshops for teachers and provided materials for them to bring back to their classrooms. We also sponsored two educators to attend KidWind’s Recharge Academy, which focused on the future of our power grid and careers in clean energy. More recently, Invenergy sponsored a national KidWind Challenge at the 2024 American Clean Power conference in Minneapolis.
Invenergy also supports the Chicago Scholars Foundation, which provides first-generation college students and students from under-resourced communities with access to mentorship and coaching. For the second year, Invenergy sponsored scholarships for two Chicago Scholars Foundation participants headed to college to pursue careers in renewable energy.
And in partnership with GRID Alternatives, which is focused on building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive solar industry, Invenergy sponsored one of the organization’s five-week, all-women’s rooftop solar Installation Basics Training cohort with 11 trainees in Sacramento, California.
A comprehensive approach to clean energy jobs training will be essential to the future of industry, and Invenergy is proud to help lead those efforts. Through a combination of public and private training programs, we can meet the demand for clean energy talent while, at the same time, reaching out to under-represented communities to create a broader and more diverse workforce. Together, we can make an impact to build a more sustainable world.
Learn more about our Invenergy Impact in our 2023 Impact Report
1 “Fastest growing occupations,” April 17, 2024, Bureau of Labor Statistics
2 “Global Green Skills Report 2023,” Feb. 29, 2024, LinkedIn
3 “Clean energy is boosting economic growth,” April 18, 2024, International Energy Agency
4 “Jobs from climate action: The Inflation Reduction Act's impact on job creation,” Feb. 29, 2024, Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
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