Friends of Vocational Technical & Agricultural Education,
This was included in an email from the State House News Service. Written by Colin Jones from MassBudget.
Additional reasons for supporting expanding access to Chapter 74 vocational technical education!! More seats needed urgently for a growing sector of the Massachusetts economy!
David
Clean Energy Sector Still Clawing Back Pre-Pandemic Jobs
Jobs In Key Sector Grew By 4 Percent In Latest Annual Report
<![if !supportLists]>· <![endif]>Colin A. Young
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<![endif]>The offshore substation that each of Vineyard Wind 1’s 62 turbines will connect to is seen on Aug. 1, 2023. At left is the "cable lay vessel" Giulio Verne, which connected the wind farm’s export cable to the substation.
MARCH 13, 2024…..The number of clean energy workers in Massachusetts is now roughly on par with the number of restaurant or higher education workers here, but the latest annual report from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center shows that the industry faces "daunting" challenges as it is relied upon to make the state’s energy transition a reality.
In addition to a minimum 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, Massachusetts law requires the state to reduce emissions by at least 75 percent by 2040 and at least 85 percent by 2050. To get there, the state needs to scale back emissions from power generation, as well as from transportation, building heating and the rest of the economy through mass electrification. But if the Bay State is to electrify heating and cooling, personal vehicle travel and more, it is going to need thousands of workers who can install heat pumps, prepare a residential home to charge electric vehicles, build many more offshore wind farms than the one in the state’s pipeline, and more.
"The solutions to the world’s climate crisis are being built in Massachusetts. Offshore wind, solar, storage, and the many other companies that support renewable energy are helping Massachusetts become energy independent," Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Rebecca Tepper said. "And with that comes thousands of lucrative jobs and fulfilling career paths for our residents."
The latest count of direct clean energy jobs in Massachusetts is 108,450 positions at 7,315 clean energy businesses, MassCEC’s 2023 report said. Between the 2022 report and the new 2023 report, the center said, clean energy businesses added 4,160 jobs. That 4 percent increase was comparable to the growth in wholesale trade and education industries (also 4 percent) but outpaced overall Massachusetts job growth of 3 percent during the same time period, the report said.
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<![endif]>MassCEC said the 2023 workforce level puts the clean energy industry in line with both the higher education and restaurant industries in Massachusetts, but it exceeds both industries’ economic contribution to indirect and induced jobs and to gross state product (GSP). The center said clean energy contributed $14.9 billion, or about 2 percent, of Massachusetts’ GSP in 2022, up 63 percent since 2012. When indirect and induced jobs are taken into account, MassCEC said the industry supported $33.1 billion in total GSP.
The state’s clean energy workforce — defined by MassCEC’s report as a person who "spends some portion of their time working in renewable energy, energy efficiency, alternative transportation, or other carbon management technologies" — nearly doubled from 2010 (60,274 jobs) to 2020 (113,968 jobs). But the 2023 estimate is still more than 5,500 jobs shy of where the industry was before it felt the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
MassCEC said that clean energy employers in Massachusetts are optimistic and expect to hire roughly 5,900 additional employees in 2024. The center stressed that the figure was just an estimate but said it "demonstrates clean energy companies’ intent to expand their workforce to meet industry and consumer demand."
Last summer, a MassCEC workforce needs assessment concluded that Massachusetts will need to grow its clean energy workforce by an additional 29,700 full-time equivalent workers in order to meet its target of a 50 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. And meeting that goal will actually require 38,100 workers to be trained and ready to work some or all of their time on climate-critical jobs, the center said.
And like most employers across Massachusetts, clean energy companies are already having trouble hiring new workers. MassCEC said that 88 percent of sector employers surveyed in 2022 said that they faced challenges in securing talent for clean energy positions.
MassCEC said in a press release that the $3.5 billion economic development bill that Gov. Maura Healey filed earlier this month "represents a significant stride towards providing essential investments in the clean energy sector, crucial for the industry’s expansion," by funneling resources to workforce development, technology research and offshore wind projects.
The bill would provide both operating and capital money to MassCEC, and would authorize funding for tax incentives aimed at attracting climatetech companies to locate here. One pillar of the bill is a 10-year, $1 billion investment in climatetech, something Healey has been talking about since the campaign trail two years ago.
"This is a rapidly evolving industry with many states competing for companies through tax credits and state investment. The Mass Leads Act will help us keep our competitive edge and lengthen our lead in the clean energy and climatetech industries," Healey said.
Clean energy is far from the only sector that will need to bulk up in order to fulfill what is expected of it in coming years, and far from the only sector facing serious challenges in that regard. The number of jobs in Massachusetts is expected to increase 21 percent by 2030, while the workforce itself will grow just 1.5 percent in the same span, an Associated Industries of Massachusetts leader said last year, pointing to data from the Department of Economic Research.
As of December, the ratio of unemployed persons per job opening in Massachusetts was 0.5, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means that for every two job openings, there was one unemployed person who could theoretically fill the job. The ratio has been less than 1 in Massachusetts since July 2021, BLS said.
"Our clean energy future is a bright one. Though the magnitude of change may appear daunting, MassCEC remains steadfast in its mission and belief that Massachusetts will meet its climate goals and deliver a sustainable, clean energy future," MassCEC CEO Emily Reichert said. "Together, alongside our fellow Massachusetts residents, we can have a profound impact on our environment, creating a brighter world for future generations."
David J. Ferreira
MAVA Communications Coordinator
DavidFerreira
