The transportation and warehousing industry is Connecticut’s largest employer of green jobs, but the state is helping construction and energy catch up.
After years of politicians and public figures talking about how they are creating jobs that benefit the environment and promote sustainability, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in March came out with hard data on what constitutes a green job and how many are in each state and industry.
Connecticut had 39,207 green jobs in 2010, the first year statistics were available. This represents 2.5 percent of the state workforce, slightly better than the national average of 2.4 percent, according to the BLS data.
BLS limited data to jobs in businesses producing goods and providing services that benefit the environment or conserve resources. The bureau stayed away from other definitions, such as sustainability officers or waste managers at companies that don’t otherwise produce green goods or services.
Connecticut’s largest green private sector is transportation and warehousing with 8,238 jobs, followed by manufacturing with 5,071; then administrative and waste services with 4,764; professional, scientific and technical services with 3,443; and utilities with 3,215.
Examples of green jobs in the leading transportation sector include bus drivers, taxi drivers and employees of transit systems such as CT Transit. Green jobs in the utilities include those working at nuclear power plants, such as the Millstone Power Station in Waterford.
Since 2010, Connecticut has worked to grow the number of green jobs in the state. The focus has intensified since Gov. Dannel Malloy took office in January 2011, highlighting sectors such as energy efficiency and clean energy.
From a preparation standpoint, the state’s strongest focus is on the construction industry.
In 2010, Connecticut had 2,932 green construction jobs, according to BLS. The state government predicts that will grow to 22,602 over the next 10 years with green construction investment more than $1 billion annually.
To have a green workforce, the state modified its Jobs Funnel to focus on green jobs and expand out of Greater Hartford to Waterbury, New Haven and Bridgeport to New Britain, Bristol and Eastern Connecticut.
“The training is needed to get the workforce ready for more of those jobs,” said Sandra Rodriguez, spokeswoman for the Connecticut Workforce Development Council.
The new CT Green Jobs Funnel, launched April 9, is funded by a $5.8 million federal grant.
“We have a growing funnel, and we believe the jobs are out there,” Rodriguez said.
The Connecticut Construction Industries Association sees a growing need for workers skilled in green construction, CCIA President Don Shubert said. Property owners put value in designations such as the Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, or LEED.
“We see more sustainable criteria in projects going forward,” Shubert said.
Another area anticipating green job growth is solar panel installation.
Last June, the state General Assembly created a program to boost commercial clean energy installations. Statewide utilities Connecticut Light & Power of Berlin and United Illuminating of New Haven will provide renewable energy credits for zero greenhouse gas emissions and low greenhouse gas emissions installations. Over the life of the program, these ZRECs and LRECs will provide $1 billion to help finance large commercial projects.
“Employment for installers who do commercial systems will jump, and it will jump dramatically, and it will jump overnight,” said Michael Trahan, executive director for trade group Solar Connecticut. “Those ZREC program contracts are going to go out the door rather quickly, and the firms that get those contracts will have to staff up rather quickly.”
Trahan said Connecticut needs more trained workers for anticipated demand.
The Industrial Management & Training Institute in Waterbury provides an in-depth course to train area residents in solar installations. More of these programs will pop up, said Ray Sullivan, Northwest Region Workforce Investment Board program manager for the State Energy Sector Partnership.
“This gives people a real in-depth training,” Sullivan said. “They know what they are doing.”
Trying to forecast growth in green job sectors always is an educated guess, Sullivan said. But planning on more solar installers is a good guess because of the anticipated impact of the ZREC program.
Looking at other possible areas the state may want to concentrate on in the future include brownfield training and building performance analysts.
“I do see potential demand there,” Sullivan said.
