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Posts Tagged ‘green jobs’

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NASDCTEc Webinar on the Green Education Pilot Curriculum Project (Broadcast September 27) PowerPoint and Recording Resources

Friday, September 30th, 2011

The two new Green Education Foundation’s pilot offerings for Career Technical Education schools, including the Green Building Course and the new professional development course for K-12 faculty entitled Sustainability Education Concepts and Teaching Methods were shared at a recent webinar broadcast. For those who were unable to attend this broadcast, the resources include the following:

Broadcast Recording

PowerPoint

These resources, along with other webinar broadcast resources from earlier NASDCTEc webinars, are readily available on our website.

Ramona Schescke, Member Services Manager

By admin in Webinars
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NASDCTEc Webinar Reminder: Green Education Foundation Pilot Curriculum Project; Green Building Course Pilot Curriculum Announced

Monday, September 26th, 2011

Don’t miss the webinar on the Green Education Foundation Pilot Curriculum Project, September 27, 2011 at 1 p.m. Eastern
Link
Victoria Waters, GEF President, will be introducing two new GEF pilot offerings for CTE schools including their Green Building Course which is a one semester, environmental science elective that educates 11th and 12th grade students on green building attributes and benefits, and provides them with the educational resources necessary to understand, identify, and improve environmental inefficiencies within their own school buildings. Topics covered include: sustainable sites, energy sources and conservation, water efficiency and indoor environmental quality as related to building construction, operation and maintenance. The course utilizes a digital resource.
GEF will also be showcasing its brand new professional development course for K-12 faculty entitled Sustainability Education Concepts and Teaching Methods.

This webinar will be recorded. You do not need to pre-register for this webinar. Simply go to this Link about 5 minutes prior to the broadcast. The audio will be heard through your computer speakers. Enter as ‘guest’ and enter your first and last name.
For more information about the webinar content, please contact Dean Folkers at dfolkers@careertech.org.

Green Education Foundation Launches Green Building Course

Molly Hislop, LEED® Green Associate Director, GEF Programs encourages everyone to “Join us for a free Green Building Course–Green Education Foundation’s (GEF) new one-semester Green Building Course is launching pilot versions this fall for 20 schools nationwide. This environmental science elective educates 11/12th grade students on green building attributes and benefits, and provides them with the educational resources necessary to understand, identify, and improve environmental inefficiencies within their own school buildings. The pilot curriculum is currently free and includes six units/75 hours of classroom instruction and an accompanying virtual textbook housed in an online learning management system, as well as a robust audit questionnaire.

If you’re looking for professional development or academic credit, GEF has resources for you, too! Their Sustainability Education Concepts and Teaching Methods pilot course is set to launch on November 1. The 15-hour, online course provides the broad knowledge, skills, and impetus to proceed with curriculum implementation and sustainability initiatives in your classroom and the broader community. Major concepts include biodiversity, renewable energy sources, green technology, the Greenhouse Effect, and climate change in response to natural and man-made causes. Classroom sustainability curricula will be linked to course units by topic and grade. You still have time to register at no-charge* so check it out! (*a fee applies if you are seeking credit, payable to our partner university.)

The Sustainability Education course applies to CTE students, as well! Students will be able to earn credit through coursework and testing while getting hands-on practical experience auditing their school for energy use, water use, and other green building components. Stay tuned for more details!

These programs will build a strong foundation for a very successful National Green Week!”

Questions can be directed to Molly Hislop, LEED® Green Associate Director, GEF Programs at mhislop@greeneducationfoundation.org.

Ramona Schescke, Member Services Manager

By admin in Webinars
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Building 21st Century Skills through Sustainability Education

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

Guest Blog Post By Victoria Waters, CEO and Founder of Green Education Foundation (GEF), vwaters@greeneducationfoundation.org.

According to a 2008 United Nations Study, there may be as many as 6.3 million new solar power jobs by 2030, and as many as 3.5 million jobs centered on improving the energy efficiency of buildings. Are our students ready to compete for those and other new economy jobs? The demand for “green collar” workers is coming, and in many cases is already here. Today, unfortunately, we are being outflanked; Brazil and China lead the world in renewable employment globally, according to a 2010 study by Clean Edge, a clean-tech research firm. The imperative is recognized at the highest levels; in September 2010, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan stated, “As the President says: ‘This is not just going to boost our economy in the short term; this is going to lay a platform for the future.’ Education and sustainability are the keys to our economic future—and our ecological future.”

The opportunity to empower and prepare the 14 million students enrolled in CTE programs is profound. According to a 2009 study by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, more than half the expected newly available clean-energy jobs will be accessible to workers with high school degrees or less. The study states that an investment of $150 billion a year in clean energy — roughly one percent of national GDP — would result in 1.7 million new jobs, with roughly 870,000 of them accessible to workers with high school degrees or less.

In CTE programs nationwide, momentum is building; the NASDCTEc is working to infuse sustainability into each of the 16 National CTE Career Clusters. For example, in the context of the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources cluster, educators will consider with their students the impact of an input selection on profitability, environmental impact, and the health and wellness of workers. Green Education Foundation (GEF)’s innovative School as a Teaching Tool lesson set for K-8 and Green Building Course for high school students are being leveraged by a number of CTE programs to incorporate sustainability concepts into the Architectural and Construction cluster. The Green Building Course and the School as a Teaching Tool use the school as a learning laboratory to conduct extensive building energy and water audits, and the high school course requires students to present recommendations for building improvements to school administrators, including energy rebate information and retrofit opportunities.

One critical unaddressed component that is key to delivering on the promise of sustainability education is teacher enablement. Today, educators often do not have the experience or training to confidently teach sustainability in the context of their subject matter. GEF is launching a Green Teacher Program for K-12 faculty with the goal of providing the knowledge, skills, and curricular resources essential for teachers to integrate sustainability education into their current disciplines.

GEF and NASDCTEc understand that empowering K-12 students and their teachers with sustainability education is vital to a paradigm shift, to change our collective thinking and our future. What do you think? How can we better prepare our young minds for a sustainable future? We welcome your thoughts and the opportunity to continue the dialogue at vwaters@greeneducationfoundation.org .

Dean Folkers, Deputy Executive Director

By admin in News, Resources
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Dept. of Labor Announces Green Jobs Innovation Fund Competition

Thursday, February 24th, 2011

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the Green Jobs Innovation Fund competition to increase green job training within existing career training programs. About $40 million will be awarded to five to eight national or state organizations running career training programs at the local level.

Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis remarked that “This grant program is an important effort in supporting green investments and equipping workers with the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to succeed in green occupations. The projects we expect to fund will enable workers to gain new skills that will make them competitive for industries and careers in demand.”

The grantees will use the funds to connect workers to green career pathways by linking Registered Apprenticeships with pre-apprenticeships and by providing skills training programs through community-based partnerships.

For more information on ETA competitive grants, visit ETA’s online tutorial. To request a grant application, visit Grants.gov or the Department of Labor grant website.

By admin in News
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Greenforce Initiative Helps Community Colleges to Advance Green Programs

Friday, January 14th, 2011

In the latest issue of ACTE’s Techniques Magazine, Gloria Mwase and Julian Keniry describe the Greenforce Initiative, a collaboration of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Jobs for the Future (JFF) to assist community colleges in providing effective green programs and producing a green workforce.  A 2009 study shows that jobs related to clean energy grew twice as fast as overall jobs between 1998 and 2007.  By implementing green programs, community colleges can help students acquire the skills needed to fill these emerging positions.  The Greenforce Initiative will supply additional resources, strategies, and best practices to select community colleges in six regions (or “Learning and Action Networks”): Northern Virginia, South Texas, Metro Chicago, Michigan, North Carolina, and Seattle.  The goals of the Greenforce Initiative are:

The authors stress the vital role of green CTE programs and graduates to aid in the nation’s economic recovery and develop alternative energy sources.  If all goes according to plan, the Greenforce Initiative’s Learning and Action Networks will become prototypes to be emulated and expanded upon by other green-minded institutions.

By admin in News
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Legislative Update: Linked Learning, Green Workforce Development, Republican Pledge to America

Friday, September 24th, 2010

Linked Learning Pathways to College, Career, and Citizenship Success Act

On September 22, Rep. Judy Chu (CA) introduced H.R. 6174, the Linked Learning Pathways to College, Career, and Citizenship Success Act, along with co-sponsor Rep. Barbara Lee (CA). The bill is aimed at preparing students for college and careers through the Linked Learning, or multiple pathways, approach. More specifically, the bill would award grants to school districts in partnership with local stakeholders, including businesses, unions, parent organizations, and other community members. At the district level, grants would be used for planning and implementation of a system of pathway schools around career themes designated as high pay, high growth, and high skill industries. At the school level, students would be exposed to four components: a rigorous academic core aligned to the state’s postsecondary requirements; career technical education; work-based learning, and supplemental services.

Green Workforce Development Through Community Colleges Act

Rep. Paul Tonko (NY) introduced H.R. 6142, the Green Workforce Development Through Community Colleges Act, which gives authority to the Secretaries of Labor, Energy and Education to jointly develop a workforce training and education program to prepare workers for careers in alternative energy and energy efficiency industries. The bill would award grants to community colleges to reach this goal.

Republican “Pledge to America”

Yesterday, Congressional Republicans issued their election policy platform, “A Pledge to America.” Education issues are not mentioned, but the document does include a plan to create jobs and make America more competitive if Republicans take control of the Congress in November. Their plan would include ending all tax increases, giving tax deductions to small businesses and repealing mandates that harm small businesses. The pledge also outlined a plan to cut spending by reducing discretionary spending to FY 2008 levels, rescinding unused ARRA funds, imposing hard caps on discretionary spending and sunsetting outdated and duplicative programs.

By admin in Legislation, Public Policy
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Senate Hearing on the State of the American Child

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Last week the Subcommittee on Children and Families of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held the second hearing in a series to address the state of the American child. This hearing looked at the impact of federal policies on children.

Dr. Cecilia Rouse, a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), told the subcommittee that a CB028331growing number of jobs require workers with greater analytical and interactive skills, but that students are not prepared to enter postsecondary, where they are most likely to acquire these skills. She went on to say that “while the current U.S. education and training system has been shown to provide valuable labor market skills to participants, it could be more effective at encouraging completion and responding to the needs of the labor market.” Her suggestions for improving the system come from CEA’s report Preparing the Workers of Today for the Jobs of Tomorrow which we told you about last summer. She also said that federal legislation such as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Workforce Investment Act would help the United States develop training and education systems that are once again first in the world.

Seth Harris, Deputy Secretary from the U.S. Department of Labor outlined the Department’s proposed “Good Jobs for Everyone” program that would ensure “that young people have access to careers in high growth industries and the skills they need to compete in the global economy.” He went on to stress the importance of WIA youth programs that prepare young adults with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in 21st century careers and emerging fields such as healthcare and “green” jobs.

Sen. Robert Casey (PA), during questioning, emphasized that there needs to be a comprehensive strategy to bring together all of the agencies and programs that focus on youth so that they are more effective at providing services to and improving the lives of children. He suggested that CEOs and business leaders could play an important role in supporting a strategy for comprehensive reform.

By admin in Public Policy
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Legislative Update: ESEA, Education Jobs Fund, Clean Energy Works Act

Friday, July 30th, 2010

ESEA Reauthorization Unlikely This Year

An article in Wednesday’s Washington Post sums up what we have been piecing together for some time — ESEA will probably not be reauthorized this year. While the President has made education a top priority and Congress has held hearings and is working behind the scenes to hammer out a bipartisan bill, progress has been slow and the upcoming elections make Congress wary of moving such a controversial piece of legislation. Former Secretary of Education and Republican Senator on the HELP Committee, Lamar Alexander (TN) does not think we will see a bill this year: “I’d say time is up,” Alexander said Tuesday. “I don’t see it happening.” In an interview with the National Journal the same day, Chairman George Miller (CA) of the House Ed and Labor Committee said that he and Ranking Member John Kline (MN) have agreed to work through August on a bill and want to be ready when the opportunity arises to introduce it. Only time will tell what Congress will do, but we will keep you posted on any new developments.

Education Jobs Fund Stripped from Supplemental

While the House voted earlier this month to include the $10 billion Education Jobs Fund in the emergency supplemental appropriations bill, the Senate lacked the votes to include the fund in their version of the supplemental. As a result, House Democrats have accepted the Senate’s plan to pass a stripped-down supplemental bill and are seeking another vehicle for the Education Jobs Fund.

Clean Energy Works Act

Sen. Patty Murray (WA) recently introduced S. 3631, the Clean Energy Works Act which would help prepare workers for clean energy careers. In addition to expanding the State Energy Program and making investments in national clean energy research, the bill would provide grants to clean energy companies for job training:

By admin in Legislation
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Senate Appropriations Subcommittee Marks Up Education Bill

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

On Tuesday the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education held a markup of and approved by voice vote their FY 2011 appropriations bill. While the text of the bill is not available, the subcommittee did release a summary of what’s included in the bill. There is no mention of Perkins funding in the summary, but we have heard from the Committee for Education Funding that Perkins was flat funded in the Subcommittee’s bill. We have also learned that the President’s proposed consolidation of Tech Prep was not in this bill, or the House Appropriations Subcommittee’s bill that they marked up earlier this month.

Some highlights of this bill:

The bill now moves to the full Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday, but Sen. Tom Harkin (IA), chair of the subcommittee, has indicated that the bill will not go to the floor for a vote before December.

By admin in Legislation
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Duncan Touts CTE in Speech at National Press Club

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

duncan-arne-sec_-of-ed_-3-09At a luncheon today at the National Press Club, during which he announced the finalists for round two of Race to the Top, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan spoke about the education reforms that the Obama Administration is undertaking, and what lies ahead for federal education policy. Secretary Duncan stressed that as the United States lags behind other nations in science, math and college completion, that we must educate our way to a better economy. Some strategies for improving student achievement and restoring the United States’ position as first in the world in college graduates include federal incentives such as Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation grants, and the Teacher Incentive Fund; a change in ESEA accountability systems; and common standards, as well as the curriculum and assessments to accompany new standards.

During the Q&A portion of the event, a question was submitted that asked whether the United States needed more CTE. The Secretary responded that yes, students will benefit from programs such as apprenticeships that allow students to “work with their hands,” that provide a range of options, and that give students a reason to stay in school.  He went on to remind the audience that CTE does not happen just at the secondary level, and that community colleges play a vital role in training students in emerging fields such as STEM and green technologies.

By admin in Public Policy
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