INDIANA NEWS SERVICE - More green energy jobs are coming to a few Indianapolis neighborhoods and it is welcome news, as Indiana ranks 12th nationally for the total number of jobs in this growing industry.
The Green Jobs Workforce Initiative will prepare residents of the near eastside, southeast, and Martindale-Brightwood neighborhoods for in-demand, living-wage careers in the growing green economy. It is the result of a partnership between nonprofits, including the John Boner Neighborhood Centers, Edna Martin Christian Center, and Southeast Community Services.
Peggy Frame, executive director of Southeast Community Services, said the program will bring equitable opportunities and long-term career pathways.
"This neighborhood has so much unutilized land and lots of formal industrial and commercial sites," Frame pointed out. "It would be really great if the neighbors who live in the neighborhood could get training to help make some of those places better."
The initiative’s jobs will offer a living wage within a fast-growing sector, Frame explained, and the project is a way to “directly contribute to that resilience in our neighborhood.” She hopes to have the first cohort begin training next month. Over the next three years, training will occur on a regular schedule.
Clean energy and clean vehicle jobs in Indiana set a record in 2023, growing to almost 90,000 jobs – an almost 2% increase from the previous year – according to research site Clean Jobs Midwest. And with the jobs, clean energy investments will create opportunities for welders, sheet metal workers, machinists, truck drivers and others.
Frame noted employment with the Green Jobs Workforce Initiative will focus on more entry-level positions to complement work requiring higher skill levels.
"We're looking at things like OSHA 30," Frame emphasized. "While that might not seem like a green job, that's an important component to moving forward in the field. We're looking at things like lead abatement, asbestos removal, a certification called HAZWOPER that deals with hazardous waste."
Frame added someone could be working in the construction field and have those certifications to help move things forward for them but they are green certifications, so it is something she thinks people can come in at pretty much any skill level and get the ball rolling.
Terri Dee wrote this article.
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