Green Workforce Study and Green Jobs Portal Supports Economy

Green Workforce Study and Green Jobs Portal Supports Economy - Credit: marcgreenworks.com

The Millersville, MD-based Mid-Atlantic Regional Collaborative (MARC) Green Consortium announced July 5, 2011 its Green Data portal for Green Economy research reports and state-of-the-art green jobs. According to a MARC press release, the Green Works Jobs portal provides free, real-time job search and recruitment tools for DC, Maryland and Virginia jobseekers and employers. Additionally, the Green Data portal provides Green Economy reports that individuals from government, education and business can use for evaluating the state of the region’s green workforce. The project was funded through a $4 million competitive grant from the US Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Ten top findings of the Green Data for a Growing Green Economy include:

• The green economy represents an estimated $34.8 billion in terms of DC, Maryland, and Virginia’s gross regional product or GRP;
• 8-9% of region’s employers with more than one employee have green jobs;
• 235,600 green jobs exist in the region and that number is expected to grow by 12% in the next two years;
• 50% of green jobs were concentrated in the construction, technical services, and education/policy sectors although green jobs were found in 300+ industries;
• The greatest number of green jobs are in energy efficiency and energy conservation;
• Green growth is projected in construction, professional, scientific, technical services and support, and waste management services;
• 75% of the region’s green employers offered on-the-job training (OJT) for workers;
• 6,500 green jobs were available at the time of the mid-2010 survey and most openings did not require a degree;
• Jobs requiring a BA degree or above accounted for 69% of green employment in DC, 23% in Maryland, and 26% in Virginia; and
• In DC, the largest gaps (shortages of trained applicants for green jobs) are in the life, physical and social science, architecture and engineering, and business and financial operations occupations while in Maryland and Virginia, the business and financial operations and computer and mathematical occupations are more heavily impacted.

About the MARC Green Consortium Project

In 2009, a $4 million grant from the US Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration was awarded to the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation on behalf of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Collaborative (a consortium of workforce and education leaders from DC, Maryland and Virginia) to improve innovative labor market information activities in support of the strategic expansion of a regional green economy. The project, known as the MARC Green Consortium and administered by the Maryland Workforce Corporation, included: the MD Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, DC Department of Employment Services, Virginia Community College System, Virginia Employment Commission, ICF International, Geographic Solutions, Magnum Economic Consulting, Georgetown University Center for Education and the Workforce, College of William and Mary, and Jacob France Institute at the University of Baltimore.

About U.S. Green Technology

U.S. Green Technology was established in January of 2009. U.S. Green Technology‘s mission is to share news and information about the latest advancements in green technologies and green jobs. U.S. Green Technology‘s areas of coverage include providing information on green social media campaigns, changes in green business, spread of the green movement throughout entertainment, green technological invention, new green start-ups, green manufacturing, green building, and green jobs. U.S. Green Technology recently launched a new free business directory for companies to promote their products and services. U.S. Green Technology also offers a green jobs board, powered by Simply Hired, for employers to post green jobs for job seekers interested in careers in the green industries such as clean energy, information technology, green building and green transportation.

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