California Labor Federation and State Building and Construction Trades Council of California to Administer $1.2 million ETP Contract for Green Building Skills Project

 

In a first-of-a-kind project, the California Labor Federation and State Building & Construction Trades Council of California (SBCTC) will administer a $1.2 million project to prepare journey-level workers for transitioning into the new green economy.

The project will initially include at least six Joint Apprenticeship Training Councils (JATCs) in sectors of the economy that are critical to the state's movement to a greener economy. The Employment Training Panel (ETP) will consider funding a second phase of the project later in the year involving additional unions.

According to Bob Balgenorth, President of the SBCTC, “AB 32 and other legislation that will follow could be the fuse that ignites California's next construction boom. But it will happen only if our joint union/employer apprenticeship programs and California's public school system can continue to produce a new generation of construction workers that are trained in the increasingly complex technologies of the future.”

The California Labor Federation and SBCTC believe that the green workforce development initiatives can work well with the state's already-established JATCs. The Building Trades JATCs could provide a tremendous role for the green transition, particularly because of the key role of construction occupations in new green building, energy efficiency building retrofits, solar energy installation, and construction of renewable energy plants.

“This project is a good first step to reaching the AB 32 carbon reduction goals and providing a cleaner environment for our state's families,” said Art Pulaski, executive secretary-treasurer of the California Labor Federation. “We look forward to working with ETP and more of our union training programs throughout the state as we seek to re-tool and re-skill our workforce.”
 

###