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Advancing Greener Careers and Campuses in Virginia
February 16, 2011
9:00am to 4:00pm
Location: Germanna Community College, Daniel Technology Center, 18121 Technology Drive, Culpeper, Virginia 22701
Click here for summary highlights of the Virginia Greenforce Summit
About the Summit:
Across the nation, the government, nonprofit, and for-profit sectors are making unprecedented investments in building a green economy, and these investments will transform how we produce and use energy in response to the need to address climate change, increase energy security, and stimulate economic recovery and growth. But the success of these investments will depend upon a workforce that can help drive changes in energy efficiency and renewable energy throughout our economy and society. To a great extent, this is a workforce that needs to be created, through education, training, and re-skilling.
The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and Jobs for the Future (JFF) are joining forces through the Greenforce Initiative in six regions of the country, including Virginia, specifically the Northern, Chesapeake, and Shenandoah regions, to assist and accelerate this process. We are focusing on community colleges, recognizing the key role that these institutions play in: 1) ensuring that workers gain skills that lead to the green careers they want and the jobs that green economy employers need and 2) driving the creation of local “workforce partnerships” – bringing together green-sector employers, workforce development organizations, unions, and other community stakeholders.
The Virginia Greenforce Summit 2011 will allow participants to identify and share region-specific solutions to expanding the new green economy and accelerating green education and workforce development initiatives. Through the Summit, we will provide a forum to build relationships, share best practices, and develop strategies to address resource challenges related to creating green career pathways and engaging lower-skilled adults.
As communities and the nation move toward greater sustainability and economic recovery, community colleges must make significant and profound adjustments towards creating pathways into a new energy economy and a greener future. We hope that you will join us to explore ways in which this can take place in Virginia.
Objectives:
- Explore new opportunities within Virginia’s emerging green economy, specifically in the Northern, Shenandoah, and Chesapeake regions
- Examine ways that community colleges and other key stakeholders can help prepare the workforce in this region to meet employer needs and help to grow the green economy
- Identify opportunities to align economic development and economic opportunity in the green economy
- Build relationships, share best practices, and develop strategies to address resource challenges related to creating green career pathways and engaging lower-skilled adults
- Learn how to use campus sustainability projects as hands-on training opportunities for workforce students
Who Should Attend:
- Administrators, faculty and staff engaged in (or interested in) credit education programs in green sectors;
- Administrators, faculty and staff involved in non-credit green workforce training programs;
- Campus sustainability and/or facilities operations staff (overseeing campus greening efforts);
- Students (if they are engaged in helping to shape college programs around green education and training and campus sustainability);
- Representatives of state and local workforce investment areas (WIB members, career counselors, and other service providers)
- Employers and hiring staff
- State and regional economic development professionals
- Community-based organizations
Participating campuses and organizations:
Arlington/Alexandria Workforce Investment Board
Bank of America
Blue Ridge Community College
Central Shenandoah Planning District Comission
CES Consulting LLC
Clark Nexsen Architecture and Engineering
Commonwealth Sustainability Works
Community College Workforce Alliance
Dabney S. Lancaster Community College
Diversified Educational Systems, Inc.
Downtown Front Royal Inc.
Easter Seals
Eastern Shore Community College
EMO Energy Solutions
Frederick County Public Schools
Fresh Tulips USA LLC
Germanna Community College
Greentech Automotive
Green Jobs Alliance
ICF International
J.L. Little, Inc.
Lord Fairfax Community College
Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce
Northern Virginia Community College
Northern Virginia Workforce Board
Peninsula Council for Workforce Development
Piedmont Virginia Community College
Planned Systems International
Rappahannock Community College
Shenandoah Valley Energy Partnership
Solar Odyssey, Inc.
Thomas Jefferson Partnership for Economic Development
Tidewater Community College
Veterans Enterprise Training and Services Group
Virginia Community College System
Virginia Conservation Network
Virginia Cooperative Extension
Virginia Employment Commission
Virginia Weatherization Training Center
Virginia Workforce Council
Western Virginia Workforce Development Board
Agenda
9:00am - Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:30am - Welcome and Introductions
David A. Sam, President, Germanna Community College
Kevin Coyle, Vice President of Education and Training, National Wildlife Federation (NWF)
Victor Branch, Marketing Manager, Bank of America
9:45am - Overview of The Greenforce Initiative and the Virginia Greenforce Summit
Stephen Lynch, Sr. Project Manager, Jobs for the Future (JFF)
10:00am - The Green Economy in Virginia - What are the opportunities?
This session will cover: current and emerging green jobs trends in Virginia; opportunities by sector; opportunities to "green" existing jobs versus creating new green jobs; strategies for stimulating demand for a green workforce in Virignia; and employer perspectives on job emergence skills needed and how employers are working with community colleges.
Facilitator: Stephen Lynch, JFF
Huey Battle, Chair, Northern Virginia Workforce Investment Board and Virginia Workforce Council
Akua Gyabaah, Senior Associate, Workforce Investment and Innovation, ICF International
Shelby Robinson, Assistant Commissioner for Field Operations, Virginia Employment Commission
Tim Kestner, Research Economist, Virginia Employment Commission (second presentation document)
11:30am - Break
11:45am - Connecting Campus Greening Projects with Workforce Development for Hands-on Training Opportunities
Facilitator: Kristy Jones, NWF
Peter Trozze, Vice President, Clark Nexsen Architecture and Engineering
David Wiggins, Workforce Services Program Manager, Blue Ridge Community College
Gunn Prag, Capital Outlay Manager and Jim Fabian, Director of Quality Assurance, Workforce
Development & Continuing Education, Northern Virginia Community College
12:30pm - Luncheon Plenary: Funding Opportunities and How to Influence Policy to Secure Future Support
Glenn DuBois, Chancellor, Virginia Community College System
Nathan Lott, Executive Director, Virginia Conservation Network
1:45pm - Sector-based working sessions
This time will alow participants to gather and focus on industry sectors that are active in their region (or area of expertise). Each group will be asked to focus their work on the three key Greenforce areas:
1 - Increasing access and success rates of lower-skilled adult learners in community college workforce training programs.
2 - Greening career pathways that lead to career advancement opportunities for the above population.
3 - Developing innovative links between on-campus sustainability initiatives and workforce training.
Increasing Energy Efficiency (Weatherization, Auditing, HVAC, etc.)
Facilitators:
Charlie Carter, Director, Residential Energy Management Training Program, Central Virginia Community College
Eric Oliver, President, EMO Energy Solutions
Agriculture and Natural Resources Conservation
Facilitators:
Coen Haakman,General Manager, Fresh Tulips USA
Brad Jarvis, Extension Agent, Virginia Cooperative Extension
Producing Renewable Energy (Wind, Solar, Geothermal, etc.)
Facilitator:
Zak Dowell, Adjunct Instructor, Workforce Solutions, Lord Fairfax Community College
Transportation (Parts, Batteries, Logistics and Shipping, etc.)
Facilitators:
Terry McAuliffe, Chairman of GreenTech Automotive
Jennifer Hibbert, Transportation Manager, Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission
4:00pm - Sustaining the Momentum: Next steps for the Virginia Greenforce Initiative
Julian Keniry, Sr. Director, Campus and Community Leadership, NWF
4:15pm - Summits ends
