The Brookings Institute recently released a study entitled, Sizing the Clean Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment. The “green” or “clean” economy is defined as the sector of the economy that produces goods and services with an environmental benefit. It is a sector that has been touted as a source of economic renewal and job creation.
Sizing the Clean Economy concludes:
The clean economy is manufacturing and export intensive. Roughly 26% of all clean economy jobs are in manufacturing establishments, compared to just nine percent of the broader economy.
The clean economy, which employs some 2.7 million workers, encompasses a significant number of jobs in establishments spread across a diverse group of industries.
The clean economy grew more slowly in aggregate than the national economy between 2003 and 2010, but new “cleantech” segments produced explosive job gains and the clean economy outperformed the nation during the recession.
Among regions, the South has the largest number of clean economy jobs though the West has the largest share relative to its population.
Most of the country’s clean economy jobs and recent growth concentrate within the largest metropolitan areas.
The clean economy permeates all of the nation’s metropolitan areas, but it manifests itself in varied configurations.
Strong industry clusters boost metros’ growth performance in the clean economy.
Massachusetts has a manufacturing base relevant to the production of clean energy and stands to benefit greatly from the clean energy supply chain. Manufacturers will need economic and industry association assistance to increase their production capacity and a highly-skilled workforce capable of reacting to a challenging, changing market. Without this capacity, clean energy producers will go overseas for parts.
Manufacturing continues as a source of economic growth in Massachusetts. The current Massachusetts manufacturing base has particular strength in precision machining, control of complex processes, production of goods requiring hardware-software integration, and boasts a healthy level of collaboration between research and development.
Yet, manufacturing employers are having a difficult time recruiting and hiring workers for existing jobs because of a skills mismatch. In the Skills Gap Report – A survey of the American manufacturing workforce manufacturing organizations continue to report a shortage of critical categories of employees. For example, 51% of the respondents reported moderate to serious shortages today in skilled production (machinists, operators, craft workers, distributors and technicians) in aerospace and defense, automotive, energy & resources, industrial products, and medical devices sectors. The vast majority of the respondents see increased shortages ahead.Moreover, even in the midst of recent layoffs, nearly one-third of companies indicate they still have unfilled positions due to lack of qualified applicants. This may be counter-intuitive, but it appears that even among companies that have experienced layoffs, some of these same companies may be simultaneously recruiting for specific types of employees, with specific types of skills and capabilities, in specific locations.
TRAINING OPPORTUNITY
To help support the clean energy manufacturing supply chain, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has awarded the Manufacturing Advancement Center and MassMEP funding to train 24 individuals for positions within the clean energy supply chain. The 160 hour fast-track, intensive training covers: shop math, blueprint reading, metrology, Lean to Green manufacturing, machine operation and more… With MassMEP’s assistance, employers provide monitored OJT and mentoring for each participant.
The next class starts September 6, with a graduation date of September 30. If you are looking for trained, skilled workers please call MassMEP (508-831-7020) to discuss this training opportunity. The first class will be centered in the Worcester area and there are limited spots remaining.
The full report, Sizing the Clean Economy: A National and Regional Green Jobs Assessment, can be found at: http://www.brookings.edu/reports/2011/0713_clean_economy.aspx
