An initiative launched Monday to assist U.S. community colleges in implementing training programs for green jobs.
More than 300 community colleges have already signed on to the SEED Center initiative, which is a free resource center and online sharing environment offering includes curriculum resources, industry and employment information, case studies and other information.
SEED (Sustainability Education and Economy Development) is a landmark effort by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and ecoAmerica to enable the nation’s 1,200 two-year colleges in the critical task of preparing the American workforce with the skills needed to succeed in sustainable, clean tech and other green economy jobs.
Many community colleges have already built innovative training programs preparing students for long-term careers in the green economy. Some of these are highlighted in the SEED Center’s case studies:
- To meet immediate local industry demand for trained windpower technicians, Columbia Gorge Community College in Oregon initiated a short-term training project that led to a 92% placement rate and graduates earning $20-$24 an hour. The college has now transformed that course into a longer-term program, which forges a career path toward a two-year degree.
- Cape Cod Community College in Massachusetts began 10 years ago to train technicians for jobs in the area’s burgeoning number of wind farms. Hundreds of students have earned transfer degrees in coastal management, solar technology, wastewater and other careers, including cleanup of Superfund sites at an abandoned military base.
- Oakland Community College in Michigan has more than 350 students enrolled in its Renewable Energies program and related courses. OCC students gain field experience in the community, refurbishing public buildings with renewable materials, performing energy audits for government and working with small businesses and hospitals to reduce waste and pollution.
"There is a vast amount of information on green jobs training out there, but SEED cuts through the clutter and brings together the best resources, providing them for free to all community colleges." said Amy Golden, Executive Director at ecoAmerica, a nonprofit organization that partnered with the AACC to create The SEED Center. "Until now there hasn’t been a nationally available network or resources to connect schools with advanced programs with schools still developing their curricula. The SEED Center will fill that important void."
For community colleges seeking to develop green jobs courses and programs, the SEED Center offers additional support for program implementation, faculty development, and funding. Initial subject areas include solar, wind, energy efficiency, green building and sustainable education.
The Center is curated by a Technical Advisory Group of academic, government and industry sustainability and clean tech authorities.
Community college presidents who sign on as members pledge not only to foster the center’s programs at their colleges, but also to build bridges to local business, government and nonprofit communities to connect training to jobs.
The Center was launched at a meeting of the Association for
the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education in
Denver.
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