(Credit: Canva Pro)Lyft is collaborating with Solar Landscape and Edison Job Corps in an effort to promote more clean energy employment opportunities.
As job opportunities in clean energy and trade industries continue to expand, access to reliable transportation remains a hurdle for many job seekers, especially those in historically underserved communities. To bridge this gap and promote sustainable employment, Lyft’s partnership with Solar Landscape and Edison Job Corps will provide free and discounted Lyft rides to students of Edison Job Corps, ensuring they have convenient transportation for job interviews and the initial weeks of new employment.
For job seekers, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, securing employment isn't the only challenge they face. Commuting to and from work sites can often be a major obstacle to finding and maintaining a job.
Flexible transportation solutions like this partnership can serve as a vital link between qualified candidates in underrepresented communities and the growing number of sustainability-focused job opportunities, driven by initiatives like the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and various state and federal policies.
The partnership aligns with STEP-UP (Solar Training and Education Partnerships for Underserved Populations), a program that collaborates with national organizations to offer solar installation training in low- and moderate-income communities as part of community solar projects hosted on commercial rooftops.
These initiatives, backed by leaders in the national commercial real estate sector, have already trained nearly 2,500 residents in states like Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, and New Mexico.
The project was initially identified by Kate Gold, director of workforce at Solar Landscape. She recognized the pressing need for reliable and flexible transportation solutions for job seekers.
Edison Job Corps provides Lyft credits to its trainees and graduates. For example, Zionjah Evans, an Edison Job Corps graduate, had limited access to transportation. When recently secured a part-time job at the Menlo Park Mall, she did not have reliable transportation. With Lyft credits provided through this partnership, she can now access her job without the financial burden of daily rides, allowing her to save and invest in her future.
Graduates of the STEP-UP program, upon completing their training at Edison Job Corps, will follow in Evans' footsteps and utilize Lyft credits to access family-sustaining jobs in solar installation.
