Green programs on track

By Fleur Bailey
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

With climate change moving at an expeditious pace and much attention being paid to global warming, City College is keeping green job training at the top of the list.

City College is currently in the process of identifying the new programs that will provide practical training to students for employment in solar, wind, energy efficiency and geothermal fields.

The Board of Trustees has passed a resolution to create a Bridge To Green Jobs Program, with an evaluation on the process every three months.

“The Bridge to Green Jobs Program is a bridge training program to teach job force skills,” trustee John Rizzo said. “Things are moving forward. We are meeting people in the city and working with the mayor’s Office of Workforce Development.”

The program will be based at the Southeast campus with the hope to remove barriers to employment, provide opportunities to traditionally under-represented groups and transform undeserved communities.

“We are working on bringing the employers to the table,” trustee Chris Jackson said. “We are meeting in the next few weeks to create employment agreements with solar panel installation companies, bio-diesel companies and grease collecting companies.”

Kristin Charles, dean of grants and resource development at City College is responsible for identifying sources and applying for funding. She hopes the funding for the programs will be available for classes to start in the fall.

“We are looking very closely as there are a lot of stimulus dollars related to green training,” she said. “We are also watching the labor market info as we need to know there’s a place for the students to go once they’re trained.”