FRANKFORT, Ky. – Gov. Steve Beshear today announced that the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet applied for and received more than $1.2 million in competitive stimulus grant dollars through the State Labor Market Information (LMI) Improvement grant program to be used to identify opportunities for and determine what training is necessary to prepare Kentuckians for green jobs. The grant funding is available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
“A $1.2 million investment in job identification and job training for Kentucky workers is always good news, but is especially welcome at a time of high unemployment,” said Gov. Beshear. “Identifying and training our people for green jobs also gives us an advantage in attracting new jobs and expanded industry to the Commonwealth.”
The LMI grants invest in state and consortium models designed to collect, analyze and disseminate labor market information, and enhance the labor exchange infrastructure for careers within energy efficiency and renewable energy fields. Key partners in the project are the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training (OET), Kentucky Workforce Investment Board (KWIB), Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet and its Department for Energy Development and Independence, Kentucky Energy Sector Partnership, the University of Kentucky and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
“As we emerge from the current economic recession, it is more important than ever that our workforce is positioned for jobs in the new green economy,” said Education and Workforce Development Cabinet Secretary Helen Mountjoy. “This grant allows us to develop the tools Kentucky workers need to learn about, train for and win those jobs. The grant also helps Kentucky businesses be successful in a highly competitive environment by matching our skilled workers with their workforce needs.”
Using the LMI grant dollars, Kentucky’s OET will collect information regarding green job occupations, including those related to reducing energy usage, lowering carbon emissions and protecting Kentucky’s natural resources. This work will include a vacancy survey to determine existing and future job opportunities and will provide a detailed assessment of green occupations and assist the workforce system in devising strategies for ensuring adequate training for this emerging sector. A labor supply database to provide detailed information on existing labor supply and job seekers from the Employ Kentucky Operating System will be developed, along with a skills analysis tool that provides transitioning jobseekers with alternative career pathways.
“This funding gives us the resources we need to more formally and definitively identify green jobs in Kentucky, and link dislocated, new workers and the unemployed with these jobs as well as help them develop the skills they need,” said Energy and Environment Cabinet Secretary Len Peters. “We have been delighted to support the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet in this request for funding, and to move forward on Kentucky’s new energy plan.”
The grant dollars will be used in Kentucky for:
- The development of effective methods for estimating the impact on industry and occupational employment resulting from implementation of green technologies;
- The dissemination of data through outreach strategies that inform job seekers, the public workforce system, education and training providers, and other organizations of the occupational skills and growing needs of the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries;
- The development of information that provides insight into the state regulatory environment, and understanding of current programs of study and related credentials, and an identification of capital investments in green industries; and
- The posting of job openings to online job banks that will be highlighted for easy recognition as green jobs by job seekers, as well as the highlighting or development of other online tools and approaches that will encourage local residents to prepare for and apply for jobs being created in their local area.
KWIB is in the process of developing a statewide strategic plan to transform Kentucky’s workforce system. This grant will be a key component in the implementation of that transformation as Kentuckians prepare for the jobs of the future.
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