Biden Administration Launches Climate Corps to Boost Sustainable Careers

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The Biden administration has established the American Climate Corps, a workforce training and service initiative aimed at giving young people access to careers in environmental conservation and the clean energy economy.

The new program is to include more than 20,000 training opportunities in areas such as land conservation and restoration, boosting community resilience to natural disasters, deploying clean energy, advancing environmental justice, and more. Once members complete their training, they will have better access to quality, well-paying clean energy and climate resilience jobs.

The program is meant to advance environmental justice by attracting members from disadvantaged communities disproportionately affected by climate change. Further, the program will also prioritize projects that help meet President Biden’s Justice40 goals, aimed at supporting those most impacted by the changing climate.

A new website will be launched for the initiative, allowing those interested to search for potential opportunities, many of which are aimed at creating a pathway into civil service. As many industries currently lack a workforce specifically trained to implement clean energy alternatives, the program should help fill these gaps by training a new generation of electricians and autoworkers as well.

Additional Pre-Apprenticeship Programs Work to Create a Green Workforce

The new Climate Corps follows investments in other apprenticeship-based programs made in order to create a workforce for the changing climate and economy.

The Department of Labor YouthBuild program awarded $90 million towards supporting and educating young people in green initiatives, including green building techniques, understanding sustainable building materials, solar panel installation, and energy-efficient appliances.

Along with the Climate Corps announcement, The Department of Energy is to provide $10 million in grants for its Career Skills Training Program, where students may receive classroom instruction and on-the-job training for installing energy-efficient building technologies. Americorps and the U.S. Forest Service also launched Forest Corps, a five-year, $15 million agreement that will engage 80 young adults in topics including wildland fire prevention and reforestation.

Finally, the Department of the Interior has committed $15 million to expand its Indian Youth Service Corps, supporting climate and conservation stewardship projects.

Altogether, the Climate Corps and these additional apprenticeship and training programs will address the rising interest from younger generations in green career pathways and will help create the workforce needed to meet U.S. climate goals.

Environment + Energy Leader