Sept. 16, 2009

Learning green skills on the path to middle-class careers

New CPI study finds construction training programs key to economic recovery

CPI released a report today linking quality apprenticeship programs in the building trades to the future of California's green economy and economic recovery.
 
The report, Construction Apprenticeship Programs: Career Training for California's Recovery, demonstrates that apprenticeship training is most effective when run collaboratively by labor and management.  

"This report sheds light on how important it is to put Californians back to work in jobs that offer a pathway out of poverty and into America's middle class," said Phil Angelides, chairman of the Apollo Alliance.  "Building-trades apprenticeship programs help stabilize and strengthen underprivileged communities, and they provide workers with the skills they need to thrive in the new green economy."

Data compiled in the report show that the vast majority of apprenticeship graduates in California (92%) come from joint labor-management programs established through collective bargaining.

The report concludes that construction apprenticeship:

• leads people from disadvantaged backgrounds to middle-class careers
• is the best vehicle for green job training
• reduces workplace injuries and turnover, and provides consistent health insurance between jobs in a largely temporary industry

Report author Corinne Wilson, CPI research and policy analyst, calls for local, state and federal policies to support quality apprenticeship programs.  The public contracting policies recommended by the study include targeted hiring in low-income communities and giving preference to training programs that provide healthcare and comprehensive safety certification.

American Clean Energy and Security Act

The American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES), as recently passed in the US House of Representatives, includes provisions supporting qualified apprenticeship programs and other measures promoting good construction careers.  

CPI headed a delegation of local environmental and community leaders to Washington DC last week to lobby for including the construction careers provisions in the Senate version of the clean energy bill.

Along with Green for All and the Partnership for Working Families, CPI is urging Senator Barbara Boxer, a co-sponsor of the climate bill, to make sure it includes:

1. The Green Construction Careers Demonstration Project
2. Funding for Green Job Act training programs for middle-class careers in green construction

Please contact Sen. Barbara Boxer now!

Construction workers to be honored at CPI Gala Oct. 21

Reserve tickets now for CPI's 2009 Gala dinner on October 21.  We will honor San Diego's construction workers, as well as the MAAC Project and cross-border community leader Deborah Szekely.

Join us for a wonderful evening and support our work for economic justice!  Details here.