Low-Skill Workers' Access to Quality Green Jobs

Abstract

"Green jobs" have garnered attention and support from many circles. This brief discusses strategies for improving access to green jobs for low-skill individuals, particularly jobs that can improve workers' economic standing and better support families. To understand where green jobs for low-skill individuals can be found, we review green industries and occupations and what they pay. Next we identify "good" green jobs that pay enough to support employees' families. Finally we discuss how training for green jobs can equip low-skill workers with needed skills, recommend how to improve these training efforts, and detail examples of innovative programs.

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Introduction

Among the policy issues taking center stage in the Obama administration, green jobs have garnered attention and support from many circles. Green jobs are typically considered positions in industries that improve energy efficiency, promote the use of alternative energy sources, and reduce the effect of production on the environment. Some experts and advocates tout green jobs as an important step toward reversing climate change and increasing energy efficiency while contributing to the economic recovery and creating job opportunities for unemployed workers. But, if and how green jobs can meet these great expectations is unclear.

Green jobs constitute a relatively small part of the national economy, representing slightly over 750,000 jobs in 2007, or 0.5 percent of all U.S. jobs (Pew Charitable Trusts 2009; U.S. Conference of Mayors 2008). However, green jobs are a growing segment of the labor market. According to a recent report by the Pew Charitable Trusts (2009), jobs classified in the clean energy economy grew by slightly more than 9 percent between 1998 and 2007, while total jobs increased by less than 4 percent. Predicted growth in green jobs range from 4.2 million by 2038 (U.S. Conference of Mayors 2008) to 16.3 million by 2030 (Bezdek 2009). Other experts counter that net job creation through investments in the green economy will be much lower because of potential job losses in other sectors of the economy (Ball 2008; Bogart 2009; Kreutzer 2008).

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) made the continued growth of green jobs a priority. Through ARRA, over $90 billion is being invested in direct spending, programs, loan guarantees, and tax incentives for green industries, and over $48 billion is being invested in job training and education, some targeted at training for green jobs.1 According to early White House estimates, this federal investment is expected to save or create 3.5 million jobs by the end of 2010 and 6.8 million jobs by the end of 2012 (Council of Economic Advisers 2009). While the number of jobs that will actually be created through this public investment is uncertain, green jobs will clearly continue to be an important economic and policy focus into the foreseeable future.

An issue raised by the relatively large public investment in green jobs is if and how the neediest Americans, particularly those who are low income and low skill, will benefit. Even before the current economic crisis, workers on the lowest rungs of the economic ladder had been faring poorly for the past three decades. Median hourly wages for workers with less than high school degrees slipped from $13.45 in 1973 to $11.38 in 2007 (in 2008 dollars) and stagnated around $14–15 for workers with only high school degrees during the same period (Mishel, Bernstein, and Shierholz 2009). Thus, it is critical to consider how these low-skill, and often low-income, workers can reap some of the gains from the emerging green economy.

This brief discusses strategies for improving access to green jobs among those with low skill levels, particularly jobs that can help improve workers’ economic standing and better support their families. In order to understand where green jobs for low-skill individuals can be found, the first section provides an overview of green industries and occupations and what they pay. The second section focuses on identifying “good” green jobs that provide the potential for individuals to support themselves and their families. Other sections discuss how training for green jobs can equip low-skill workers with needed skills, provide recommendations for improving these training efforts, and detail examples of innovative programs.

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