About the National Energy Workforce Alliance
The Challenge: In a few short years, it will take unprecedented clean energy job growth to meet demand for new solar, wind, battery storage, and energy efficiency solutions. This is a tremendous opportunity, but it will not happen by chance. We need comprehensive planning and coordination to encourage the growth of a highly skilled and diverse clean energy workforce. We need to build connections among job seekers, education providers, employers, and community organizations and create pathways to high-quality, family-sustaining jobs.
Our Response: The National Clean Energy Workforce Alliance is a cross-sector effort to improve clean energy education, training, and job placement outcomes—and ensure that clean energy job opportunities are inclusive of diverse candidates and underserved communities.
Since January 2022, the Alliance has held regular convenings with more than 2,800 employers, training providers, community-based recruitment and support organizations, and energy justice organizations. This collaboration serves to increase diversity within the clean energy sector, providing actionable best practices to help stakeholders to integrate equity into all aspects of their operations and engagement.
Through structured and intentional meetings, the Alliance is collectively identifying and sharing resources and information, with a focus on concrete solutions to shared workforce challenges.
The Alliance is led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council with support from Bank of America Charitable Foundation.
Read a case study on the Alliance from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Who Can Join the National Clean Energy Workforce Alliance?
Come to the table! We welcome organizations across the workforce development space in the clean energy and energy efficiency industries. Members of the Workforce Alliance include:
- Training, Education, and Credentialing Providers: Community and four-year colleges and universities, technical and vocational schools, organized labor, certifying bodies, and other for-profit and nonprofit education providers.
- Employers and Associations: Employers and trade associations representing all elements of the clean energy supply chain.
- Recruitment and Support Providers: Organizations recruiting and supporting learners and workers. This includes energy justice organizations, the U.S. Department of Labor’s workforce system, community action programs, training programs that provide wraparound services (i.e. Job Corps), and other community-based organizations.
- Funders and Program Designers: Government (policymakers, regulators, and program designers), foundations, utilities, and other entities funding workforce development efforts.
What Outcomes Does the Workforce Alliance Support?
The National Clean Energy Workforce Alliance is identifying clean energy workforce development gaps along with recommended solutions that can be addressed through policy and program deployment. Our goals are to make it easier for:
- employers to find the employees they need;
- training providers to support effective learning and career guidance; and
- community organizations to connect learners and workers to clean energy jobs
How Will the Workforce Alliance Accomplish Its Goals?
The National Clean Energy Workforce Alliance offers multiple opportunities to convene, learn, and advance workforce development solutions. These include:
- Regular virtual meetings to address relevant topics in workforce development. View a list of past convenings and access the recordings and slides.
- Reports, surveys, and other resources that make informed recommendations on an equitable transition to the clean energy workforce. View our resources.
- In-person Solutions Summits that convene employers, training providers, and community-based organizations to address workforce development solutions. View resources from the IREC Vision Summit 2022.
How Do I Get Involved?
The Alliance is an inclusive effort; please get in touch if you are interested in being involved! Join the National Clean Energy Workforce Alliance using the form below.
Thank you in advance for joining us in developing more resilient, healthy, and prosperous communities through improved workforce development for clean energy technology and jobs.
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Photo courtesy GAF Energy
Reports and Resources
Key Recommendations: Cultivating a Diverse and Skilled Talent Pipeline for the Equitable Transition
This 2023 report provides top-line recommendations for how to develop a skilled and equitable clean energy workforce. It will help funders, program designers, and those implementing workforce programs to focus resources where they will be most impactful—and most supportive of a just transition.
Workforce Solution Convenings
IREC held convenings with organizations across the workforce development landscape to identify challenges, strategies, and solutions. Download our summaries of the results.
Solutions from IREC Partners
This directory includes links to case studies from Workforce Alliance partners who are advancing workforce development solutions.
IREC 2022 Vision Summit
The IREC Vision Summit is a one-day visionary exploration of what’s needed to make our nation’s bold clean energy goals a reality. In October 2022, the theme was workforce development. The events of the day built upon and advanced the efforts of the Workforce Alliance to build the clean energy workforce of the future and ensure that expanding clean energy job opportunities can benefit diverse candidates and underserved communities.
View photos, videos, and panel discussions from the 2022 Vision Summit below!