Academy for Educational Development

Washington, D.C., February 4, 2009—Community colleges are at the forefront of creating the workforce needed to fill thousands of new jobs in the emerging green economy, according to a new report from AED.

The report, “Going Green: The Vital Role of Community Colleges in Building a Sustainable Future and a Green Workforce,” details the ways in which community colleges are becoming living-learning classrooms to prepare workers for new or altered jobs in the clean-energy economy and to make campuses themselves more environmentally friendly. 

These living-learning classrooms are offering hope for workers who need to upgrade their skills and reorient themselves to regain or hold onto employment, according to Mindy Feldbaum, director of workforce development programs at the AED National Institute for Work and Learning.

“Given that the current economic stimulus plan making its way through Congress contains millions of dollars for educating and training workers for green jobs, this report could not have been better timed,” Feldbaum says. “Community colleges are the leaders in preparing tomorrow’s green workforce and, in so doing, helping to support the nation’s economic recovery.”

Jobs in the green sector for which community colleges are preparing workers include wind power installers and maintenance workers; solar engineers and designers; green architects and designers; ethanol plant technicians; biodiesel laboratory technicians; indoor air quality auditors; and sales representatives for the above-mentioned alternative energy resources and products.

The community college examples, paired with contact information and action steps for local implementation, serve as a reference guide for institutions that are interested in developing environmentally friendly programs at their schools.

"As America's economy transforms itself into a green economy, community colleges, with their ability to turn on a dime to meet changing market conditions, will become increasingly important,” said John E. Carnes, Ph.D., dean of applied science and technology at St. Philip’s College in San Antonio, and the president of the National Council on Workforce Education, the organization which helped produce the AED report. “America will need educated technicians whose skills can cross industry lines; those are community college graduates.”

About AED

AED is a nonprofit organization that works globally to improve education, health, civil society and economic development-the foundation of thriving societies. Focusing on the underserved, AED implements more than 250 programs serving people in all 50 U.S. states and more than 150 countries (www.aed.org).

About NCWE

The National Council for Workforce Education is a private, nonprofit, professional organization committed to promoting excellence and growth in workforce education at the post secondary level. NCWE, an affiliate council of the American Association of Community Colleges, provides a national forum for administrators and faculty in occupational, vocational, technical, and career education as well as representatives of business, labor, military, and government, to affect and direct the future role of two-year and other post-secondary institutions in work-related education.

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NOTE TO EDITORS/PRODUCERS:

For a list of community colleges, please contact Alessandro Gravina at 202-464-3790 or agravina@aed.org.

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