Resource Center

Instructions

The Resource Center is a curated collection of information organized around 7 green economy “Sectors” and 7 “Topics.” In time, more Sectors will be added. Topics represent those areas in which educators and workforce development professionals continue to seek direction.

You can search by sector or by topic. Or across all sectors and/or all topics.

You can also perform a keyword search of all resources on the top right of this page.

Overview

Solar

The solar industry is expected to show steady growth over the coming decade largely due to rising energy prices, advances in technology through public/private partnerships and investments, and continued enactment of federal and state policies and financial incentives. more >>

Wind

Wind power is considered a leading source of new electricity generation in the United States, with the potential of providing 20% of the nation’s energy needs by 2030. more >>

Green Building

The green building market has expanded five fold over the last three years to a $48 billion national market—and is projected to triple in the next five years. more >>

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency is considered the foundation of a vibrant and sustainable green economy, and one of the most cost effective ways to lower energy consumption, reduce operating costs, and mitigate carbon emissions. more >>

Sustainability Education

Sustainability education refers generally to learning experiences that enable students to develop the knowledge, behaviors and skills to help create healthier ecosystems, social systems, and economies. For the purposes of the SEED Center, this includes resources to help build non-credit continuing education for the incumbent workforce and integrating sustainability curriculum into existing credit programs. more >>

Sustainable Ag., Food & Land

The Sustainable Ag., Food & Land sector covers the areas of organic farming, horticulture, culinary art, and landscaping. This sector includes organizations and resources that integrate environmental, social and economic factors into land use, food preparation, and land specific practices in an attempt to create a more sustainable future. more >>

General Clean Tech

The General Clean Tech sector is a space for resources that encompass multiple ‘green’ sectors. Many are applicable to the broader clean economy and sustainability-related technology and will serve the general clean tech community. Resources also provide valuable information on sectors that are experiencing substantive development in the sustainability realm, like manufacturing and smart grid. more >>

Transportation and Fuels

The Transportation & Fuels sector covers the area of electric and hybrid vehicle development and maintenance, other forms of alternative and sustainable transportation, natural gas, fuel cells, battery storage, and renewable fuels sources including ethanol, biodiesel, algae, and methane. more >>

Certifications and Industry Credentials

Certainly, one of the biggest challenges facing green educators is the rapid and mostly uncoordinated emergence of green certifications and credentials. more >>

Curricular Materials

These resources and materials have been vetted by industry and education experts, and while not in the form of specific educator tools, will assist in creating quality curricula for your classroom. more >>

You will find more specific educator tools (e.g. syllabi, lab manuals, lesson plans, special classroom projects, equipment lists, etc.) submitted by SEED member colleges in our Curricular Materials Sharing Portal.

Employment Industry Projections

While job training providers have been quite active in past years working with local industry to define the emerging green jobs market and potential job growth areas, most still struggle to forecast accurately regional occupational demand. The U.S. Department of Labor has made recent strides toward classifying green occupations and competencies which will help communities define and track green jobs (and colleges to design appropriate education and training programs). Given the uncertain renewable energy and efficiency industry outlook, and rapidly changing technologies, access to the most up-to-date industry studies and employment projections will be critical. more >>

Innovative Practices & Partnerships

The job creation potential of the green economy has led to some unique job training and economic development partnerships and collaborations. more >>

Professional Development Resources

This section includes promising facilitated learning opportunities, including “train the trainer” programs, standing conferences, and informal learning opportunities situated in practice for faculty and staff seeking to further their knowledge of industry trends and requirements. more >>

Policy & Funding Sources

Included you will find links and descriptions of agencies and organizations that typically fund sustainability and green job training initiatives as well as those that provide important information on national legislation and policies relevant to the clean energy sector. CHECK BACK AS MORE ARE ADDED. This section also highlights resources that provide guidance on how to supply input into program and grant design for certain agency solicitations. more >>

Skill sets, Competencies & Career Pathways

This section includes lists and assessments of skill sets and competencies tied to the green economy – across the broad industry as well as within specific sectors. It also includes some critical resources that colleges can use to align programs and facilitate student transitions. Included are green energy competency models and newly-developed career pathways that allow movement across educational and training programs. more >>

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Featured Resources

North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) Solar PV Installer Certificate

The NABCEP PV installer certification is a voluntary certification that provides a set of national standards by which PV installers with skills and experience can distinguish themselves from their competition. Certification provides a measure of protection to the public by giving them a credential for judging the competency of practitioners.

US DOE SunShot Inititiative: Solar Career Map

This solar career map explores an expanding universe of solar-energy occupations, describing diverse jobs across the industry, charting possible progression between them, and identifying the high-quality training necessary to do them well. Developed by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council in its capacity as the National Administrator of DOE’s Solar Instructor Training Network, the tool is intended for use by instructors, policy-makers, and job-seekers.

What's in a Name? Defining Different Types of Credentialing Programs

Article that appeared in Solar Today - September/October 2009 defining the different types of credentialing programs. While certain terms sound similar, they imply different levels of competency.

More Resources

American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Green Economy Webinar

Webinar focuses on 1) different types of green jobs; 2) professional development, certification, and curricular material for teachers at both the high school and community college levels in the green jobs area; and, 3) partnership models between businesses, government, and educators to crate more effective entry, re-entry and professional development for workers in the emerging green economy.

Connecting High-Poverty Areas with Green Jobs: Creative Partnerships with Access Points

Designed for workforce systems with existing SHARE Network Access Points but open to all, this Webinar (formerly "Access Point and The New Economy") shares promising practices from areas that are using faith-based and neighborhood partners to help fulfill the needs of the Recovery Act and the new “green jobs” economy. The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration has announced its initial plans for awarding “green job training” funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Training and Employment Notice 44-08 summarizes these plans. Must sign up with Workforce3One.org to access website.

Electronics Technicians Association International (ETA) Renewable Energy Certifications

ETA International’s comprehensive Renewable Energy credentialing program is unlike any other green certification provider. ETA offers three career track certification pathways in renewable energy technology -- Installer / Integrator / Maintainer.
Review the Fact Sheets for the Following Industry Certifications:
- Solar (PV) Fact Sheet
- Small Wind (SW) Fact Sheet
- Electric Vehicle Technician (EVT) Fact Sheet

Electronics Technicians Association (ETA) International Electronics Technician Certifications

ETA is a not-for-profit trade association for electronics students and professionals. ETA focuses on providing resources for the technician or student to learn more about the industry, connect with other professionals, advance their careers and achieve recognition for their knowledge and skill through certification.

Green Pathways Out of Poverty: Workforce Development Initiatives

This document is a product of that two-day meeting and links to resources recommended by Community of Practice members. It is meant to guide and support anyone seeking to create pathways out of poverty through green job training. Must sign up with Workforce3One.org to access website.

Institute for Sustainable Power Quality (ISPQ) Accreditation of Training Programs

To ensure continuity, consistency, and quality in the delivery of training, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is implementing the Institute for Sustainable Power Quality (ISPQ) framework of standards and metrics to provide a means to compare content, quality, and resources across a broad range of training programs covering renewable energy, energy efficiency and distributed generation technologies. This international framework ensures legitimacy of what’s being taught and by whom.

Making the Transition: Helping Workers and Communities Retool for the Clean Energy Economy

This report offers recommendations which form a worker and community transition program as part of federal climate legislation. It analyzes past and current transition programs, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and uses data to develop a proposal for a model climate transition policy. The recommendations focus on workers in carbon-intensive industries such as coal and fossil fuels, communities dependent on or affected by those industries, and low- and moderate-income consumers unable to cope with a temporary rise in energy prices. Must sign up with Workforce3One.org to access website.

National Partnership for Environmental Technology Education (PETE)

PETE's goals include: support the use of sustainable practices and technologies in workforce and economic development and global competitiveness to meet the demands of a greening economy; and, to advocate global environmental stewardship and literacy through national and international programs and partnerships in education and training. It connects faculty to faculty, college to college, and college to industry.