Blog Post: Green Recovery?

Good news! Well it’s about time, you’re probably thinking. The Center for American Progress report Green Recovery has recently highlighted how many jobs could be created by investing in the green industry. And, while specialized jobs will certainly be created, the majority of jobs that emerge from growth in green will employ people in the same industries in which they’re already trained. 

“Constructing wind farms, for example, creates jobs for sheet metal workers, machin­ists, and truck drivers, among many others,” the report goes on to say. “Increasing the energy efficiency of build­ings through retrofitting requires roofers, insulators, and building inspectors. Expanding mass transit systems employs civil engineers, electricians, and dispatchers…. In addition, all of these green energy investment strategies engage a normal range of ser­vice and support activities—including accountants, lawyers, office clerks, human resource managers, cashiers, and retail sales people.”

With the stimulus singling out green for growth, and with the green industry topping Presidential priority lists left and right, studies that predict job growth will follow green investment offer big hope to folks who’ve been seeking high-growth work in this no-growth economic climate.

San Diego State University’s College of Extended Studies is the first in the nation to offer online professional certificates in key green industry areas. Their professional certificate program in Green Building Construction focuses on training students in the practical knowledge and skills that employers in fast-growing green industries will need and value.