About Us

The Chicagoland Region continues to show national leadership in the emerging green economy. In an effort to expand this leadership, The Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Initiative was founded in September 2007 with the intent of organizing stakeholders around the opportunities and resources around green collar jobs. The Initiative is a collaboration of partners from labor groups, community organizations, businesses, community colleges, sustainability organizations, and nonprofits.

Mission

The mission of Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Initiative is to develop a skilled workforce that is ready to meet employer demands in the new “green” market and to capture new employment opportunities for Chicagoland low-skilled individuals.

The Initiative will explore and identify employment and job training opportunities to prepare workers for emerging green jobs related to sustainability, natural resource conservation and environmental related technology. The target audience for a new green collar jobs program includes: unskilled, unemployed or underemployed individuals, and incumbent workers requiring updated training for new technologies. We follow the philosophy of national program leaders Green for All and Apollo Alliance by concentrating on Green Collar Jobs as a pathway out of poverty. The Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Initiative supports development of Green Collar Jobs that will focus on low-income, disadvantaged communities and developing career-paths that lift people into a head-of-household job.

Based on our initial research, some of the prevalent Green Collar jobs include: energy raters for homes and commercial buildings; green cleaning and building maintenance staff; alternative energy service providers (solar, wind, geo-thermal); installer/ maintenance of stormwater management systems (green roof, permeable pavement, rain water collection), urban agriculture (landscaping, farming, apiculture) and green-related services (recycling, retail, manufacturing). For the purpose of our research organization, we have identified four green collar job sectors:

  • Urban Agriculture and Horticulture
  • Building Construction, Operations & Maintenance
  • Green Products and Services
  • Energy Efficiency & Alternative Energy

In 2008, Initiative staff will conduct research and outreach to potential employers, workforce development and job training groups to better understand job creation potential, incumbent worker retraining needs, and the capacities of current training programs in the green collar sector.

Future work will focus on selecting two promising job types and drafting a program development plan for these jobs that will serve as a program model for additional job and career selections. The model will identify program components to be developed including job readiness, participant support services, career counseling, training classes that link existing programs as well as new classes to be developed on a career path, curriculum development needs, employment, retention and advancement training. Strong emphasis will be on mapping a career path and gaining the training, credentials and work experience necessary to advance.

Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Summit

On December 7, 2007 Wilbur Wright College hosted the Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Summit. The event was a great success with 150 attendees from various backgrounds including: teachers, green professionals, community organizations, union leaders, funders, workforce development groups and municipal officials. The LEED Council was a primary organizer of the event along with all of the Initiative’s partner organizations.

The Summit featured opening remarks by Sadhu Johnston, City of Chicago’s Chief Environmental Officer as well as speakers from national organizations: Apollo Alliance and Workforce Alliance. Representatives from the Ella Baker Center in Oakland, CA and Sustainable South Bronx from Bronx, NY, also addressed their own Green Collar Jobs programs.

Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Program Highlight

The City of Chicago has a long history of Green Collar Job support and development. Mayor Daley’s commitment to making Chicago the greenest city in the country includes strategies for green collar jobs and how they can be a significant part of the ‘greening’ process. Many other municipalities in the region are taking notice of the changes happening in Chicago and are following suit.

One example of this is Greencorps Chicago's Green Industry Job Training Program has trained City of Chicago residents in landscaping, environmental health and safety, electronic recycling, professional development, and academic enhancement for nearly 15 years. During the nine month long training, Greencorps Chicago trainees get hands-on experience in the field and in the classroom practicing what they have learned in the three fields of landscaping, environmental health and safety, and electronic recycling. Overall principles based on professionalism and applied academic enhancement are used throughout the training. Upon completion of the program, graduates become environmental stewards for the city and their communities.

Greencorps just completed an active recruitment phase with over 200 potential trainees attending various open houses. Orientation started this month for 50 trainees with 40 (8 crews) being kept on during the 9-month season. We also have 5 crew members returning from previous years for contract-based landscape work and 4 employed at the City of Chicago’s Household Chemical and Computer Recycling Facility. You can find out more about Greencorps Chicago on the city's website or on Blip TV.