The State Workforce Development Board was awarded a U.S. Department of Labor American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Grant in the amount of $5,997,000 for 36 months of fast-track training and job placement in the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Sectors. This project will serve businesses, dislocated workers, underemployed and unemployed Iowans with training funds for occupations as specified in the Green Jobs Act of 2007. It will also amend Iowa’s Energy Independence Plan with an Energy Sector Plan to train workers for emerging occupations in Iowa’s clean energy economy.

As required in the grant application, Iowa Workforce Development and the Office of Energy Independence have chartered a formal Energy Sector Board to guide the funding awards for job training. They will prioritize funds for fast-track pre-apprentice and apprenticeship activities, as well as nationally-recognized worker credentialing for jobs in the following industries:

• Wind energy
• Solar energy
• Smart Grid and electrical transmission
• Biofuels
• Energy efficient construction and building retrofits
• Deconstruction, haz-mat abatement and materials re-use
• Energy assessment and audit
• Manufacturing of energy efficient products (e.g. wind turbines, energy efficient windows and doors, building insulation products and solar energy components)
• Sustainable agriculture
• Other targeted industries of the Green Jobs Act of 2007 or a repeated cycle of one of the above training programs as data indicates

The U.S. Department of Labor has identified “sector strategies” as defined by the Aspen Institute as the rationale for funds allocations. Distribution of funds to grantees will be done through the Request For Proposal (RFP) process, with funding made available to local sector project teams only. The composition of a local sector team should include:

• Workforce partners – IWD/WIA
• Representatives from energy efficiency and renewable energy business and industry, including public, private or non-profit employers
• Labor organizations, including labor-management training programs
• Non-profit organizations, including community and faith-based organizations
• Education and training community, which includes the continuum of education at all levels from secondary schools to community and technical colleges, four-year colleges and universities
• State/local Veterans agencies
• Economic Development organizations

The basis for utilizing the sector strategy is as follows:

• Specific industry or cluster of occupation focus, developing an understanding between business competitiveness and workforce needs
• Intervenes through a credible organization, developing customized workforce solutions for the industry sector
• Supports workers in improving their range of employment-related skills, improving the skill sets of individuals to better compete for opportunities in the sector
• Meets the needs of the employers and
• Creates lasting change in the labor market to the benefit for both workers and employers

Priority targets for training will be:

• Currently unemployed workers
• Workers dislocated due to changes in the automobile industry
• Veterans
• Workers that need Upskilling to stay employed
• Workers with low skills needing a pathway out of poverty