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NJCCVTS Launches Statewide Green Collar Careers Advisory Committee
The New Jersey Council of County Vocational-Technical Schools has formed a statewide committee of education experts, workforce leaders, energy companies and policymakers to help advise its members on the workforce needs in the newer, greener economy.
"The transition to greener cars, greener buildings, greener factories, greener clothes, and greener jobs all means one thing for our schools and students and that is change." said Michael Pennella, superintendent of the Essex County Vocational-Technical Schools and chair of the Council's committee. "Training our students for jobs as they existing a generation ago or even a year ago has never been the way we do business."
Meeting this week in the State House in Trenton, the committee set four goals for ensuring that county vocational-technical school students have the “green†skills that all careers will soon demand, as well as the academic and technical skills they will need to succeed in emerging green careers in energy and other industries. They are:
* Develop a short-term training module that can help train much-needed energy auditors and weatherization experts
* Explore ways to infuse the latest green skills into each and every career program offered at county vocational-technical schools
* Create curriculum to help re-train existing workers in the construction trades to update their skills to incorporate green practices
* Develop a curriculum that could be used statewide for a four-year program of study in the field of energy and the environment.
The Green Collar Careers Advisory Committee will advise county vocational schools, help shape the curriculum and provide guidance on new and existing programs.
To read more about the committee and its goals for infusing more green into the state's career and technical education, read the Council's paper Career and Technical Education for a Newer, Greener Economy.
For a list of members of the Green Collar Careers Advisory Committee, click here...
To read about the Council's other energy and environmental initiatives, click here...