On January 7th, 2010, the Central Vermont Community Action Council announced that it received a stunning $4.8 million grant as part of the Department of Labor’s $100 million Energy Training Partnership Program. The money will train and prepare nearly 2400 Vermonters for cutting edge green jobs all over the state.
The grant, one of the largest given out by the green jobs program authored by Senator Bernie Sanders, will provide training for workers in everything from manufacturing large wind turbines to installing solar panels and cleaning furnaces. CVCAC will immediately be hiring at least 5 new staff, and will work with public and private partners around the state to provide intensive case management for nearly 400 people and job training for another 2000.
“One way to move our country toward energy independence, slow global warming and create good-paying jobs is to use energy in a smarter way,” Sanders said in a prepared statement.
“As a nation we have to cut consumption by making our homes and businesses more energy efficient and move to renewable energies,” he added. “Trouble is, today you would have a hard time finding workers qualified to do those jobs. This funding helps address the problem by training thousands of Vermonters for good-paying green jobs.”
Vermont has long been a leader in energy efficiency, and in addition to providing Vermonters with the opportunity to get high-paying jobs, CVCAC Director Hal Cohen sees the grant as a way to position our state as a national green jobs leader.
“All eyes will be on us,” he said. “We’re responsible to try and make this a national model.”
VPIRG Clean Energy advocate James Moore agreed. “Vermont is poised for a revolution of clean, local energy, and this grant is a great step in that direction.”
Quotes from Cohen and Senator Sanders taken from “Community action lands $5M grant”, Jan 7, 2010, The Times Argus. To read more coverage, click here.
