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Edmonds CC a partner in $3.8 million energy training push

01/07/2010

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Washington State has received $13.48 million in funding for green jobs training including a $3.8 million energy training partnership in five counties. Edmonds College is part of the energy training partnership along with South Seattle CC, Seattle Vocational Institute, Olympic College, the Workforce Development Councils of Seattle‐King County, Snohomish County, Tacoma Pierce County and the Olympic Consortium.

Edmonds College has a new Energy Management degree that includes an Energy Efficiency Technician certificate.

Here's the news release from Sen. Maria Cantwell

SEATTLE, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that Washington state will be sharing $13.48 million in funding for green job training. The grants are part of a federal stimulus investment in clean energy technology and job training Cantwell championed in the February 2009 stimulus bill and the 2007 Energy Bill. The Department of Labor (DOL) is managing the job training portion of the program and today announced the details of job training grants totaling $100 million nationwide. Cantwell said that three grants totaling $13.48 million are primarily going to Washington state. Washington state will benefit from:

  • $3.88 million for an energy training partnership in five Washington counties (King, Snohomish, Pierce, Kitsap, Clallam);
  • $4.6 million in training for green occupations in the healthcare industry to be shared between King County and counties in four other states;
  • $5 million for renewable energy technology training for Washington and Oregon (Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties in Washington).

“These job training funds will expand our skilled clean energy work force and help cement Washington state’s leadership position in our nation’s emerging clean energy industry,” Cantwell said. “The funding awarded today recognizes our commitment to making clean energy a major job creator, while improving our environment and lowering consumer energy costs. Clean energy will be the largest industry of the 21st century. My efforts in Washington, DC are aimed at ensuring that Washington state and the U.S. continue to lead the world in inventing and manufacturing these technologies. Clean energy job training is essential to realizing this goal.”

The grant announcements by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis mark the third of five grant awards totaling $500 million for green job training funding included at Cantwell’s urging in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Together, the grants affecting Washington state are projected to train nearly 8,000 participants. They will lead to the development of training curricula for 22 nationally recognized skill certificates.

The grant of $3.88 million goes toward the Sound Energy Efficiency Development (SEED) program, which provides training and job placement assistance in energy efficiency assessment occupations. The SEED program will be implemented through a regional partnership of employers, labor organizations, and community and technical colleges based in five Washington counties.

The $4.6 million grant goes to King County and counties in four other states to provide skills training in new and emerging green occupations in the healthcare industry. The third grant totaling $5 million is going to Oregon and three counties in Washington state to build a skilled workforce to support companies that generate power.

Among other clean energy wins for Washington state, Cantwell has led efforts to invest in technologies that will upgrade the nation’s electricity grid, authoring the smart grid title of the 2007 Energy Bill. She helped secure $88 million for the landmark Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Project, creating jobs and providing Washington state consumers with a stronger, more reliable grid that will reduce overall energy costs.

Senator Cantwell also recently introduced a groundbreaking and bipartisan climate bill, the Carbon Limits and Energy for America’s Renewal (CLEAR) Act, which achieves real greenhouse gas emission reductions while catalyzing job growth in clean energy technologies.
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