Green jobs news roundup

Melissa Hincha-Ownby
Mother Nature Network
Oct 30, 2009

The latest green jobs news from around the web including an extra benefit of green jobs training and a roadmap for green collar jobs in New York City.

A bevy of green jobs news has made headlines over the past week. In fact, there’s been so much news that I couldn’t pick just one or two to cover. Instead, I’ve decided to write a little green jobs news roundup to share a few of my favorite articles from the past week.

Green job training = eco-conscious workers The main benefit of green jobs training program is the opportunity for under and unemployed Americans to obtain a good, green job. However, there may be an additional benefit – a more eco-conscious country. In an article for Green Inc., Liz Galst interviews California resident Wayne Gatlin. After completing a green jobs training program, Gatlin began recycling and riding his bike more often.

Australia commits to green jobs training program Although the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act has led to an influx in funding for green jobs training programs here in the United States, the push for green jobs is not purely an American phenomenon. The Gov Monitor reports that Julia Gillard, Australia’s Minister for Education, has announced plans for a focused effort on providing green skills training to Australians.

SMA Solar Technology coming to Denver Denver’s ABC 7 News is reporting that SMA Solar Technology, a German-based firm, will be building its first North American manufacturing facility in Denver. The $20 million project could bring up to 700 good, green jobs to the area.

NYC green collar jobs roadmap The Center for American Progress has released a new report detailing how to best prepare NYC for the new green economy by bringing in more green collar jobs. In the report, New York City Green Collar Jobs Roadmap (PDF), J. Mijin Cha and Jack Dafoe examines how focusing on sustainable economic measures can help NYC come out of the recession as a leader in the green collar economy.