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Training Workers of Today for the Clean Energy Jobs of Tomorrow

April 14, 2011 at 4:54 PM ET by Jon Boggiano
Summary: 
Jon Boggiano, an attendee of the Champions of Change: Clean Energy roundtable, talks about the work his company is doing to prepare a generation of workers with the skills for a clean energy economy.

This past Friday, I attended the White House Champions of Change roundtable. This roundtable impressed upon me breadth and vitality of the growing clean energy/energy efficient economy. In attendance were local government and private sector business leaders (the Champions of Change) as well as White House and Department of Energy officials (also Champions of Change). I enjoyed hearing participants share their accomplishments which included retooling a decades old manufacturer, implementing local government sustainability projects, and developing a thriving home energy retrofit business.

I shared the success that we have had at Everblue by training tens of thousands of students from small businesses through Fortune 500 companies. I firmly believe that quality education and clean energy are both essential American security issues. As a veteran owned business, our focus is on providing practical and valuable education that helps grow America’s sustainable workforce. Many of our students have gone from unemployed to employed, successfully started small businesses and grown existing ones, changed careers, developed new products, and implemented large scale corporate social responsibility programs. Every day, we see the private sectors commitment to sustainability and I was excited to hear how the administration plans to leverage the private sector as a partner to rapidly grow America’s green economy.

This Champions of Change roundtable was a great opportunity to interact with other leaders from around the country. The administration got to hear straightforward feedback on its policies, and all participants had an opportunity to learn from one other. I have great hope for the future of America knowing that such capable people are working tirelessly on fixing some of our nation’s greatest challenges.

Jon Boggiano is a co-founder of Everblue Training Institute. Everblue, an accredited school founded by veterans, specializes in skills development and professional certifications for green building, energy efficiency, and renewable energy.