Recovery Alert - Good News

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What a great week to be part of the green jobs movement. First, $500 million in hard-fought Green Job Training grant money is now available. Second, the federal Department of Energy has distributed more than $1 billion in Weatherization Assistance Program and State Energy Program funds since our last Alert. Third, we strengthened the House version of the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) to include opportunity and access to jobs for low income communities and communities of color. And fourth - some local news from where I live - the first class of 40 trainees just graduated from the Oakland Green Jobs Corps program!

That's four big reasons for hope as we look forward to the second half of 2009. In this edition of our Recovery Alert, you will get some tips about how to turn that hope into action. You'll read about new webinars for green job training grant applicants; a "green curriculum" learning call for workforce development professionals; a new green-collar jobs resources webpage; a new blog to help you stay up-to-date on the Weatherization Assistance Program; and an announcement of new rules for energy efficiency.

1. RESOURCE - Upcoming Webinars on the Competitive Green Jobs Training Grants
Last week we sent you information about the just-released grant guidelines for green job training funds. The Department of Labor (DOL) encourages applicants for these grants to attend upcoming webinars this month (but it is not mandatory). The webinars will be available on the DOL's Employment and Training Administration (ETA) web site throughout the month: http://www.workforce3one.org. Upcoming webinars:

    * State Labor Market Information Improvement Grants. Pre-recorded. Available: 10 July 2009 at 3 p.m. ET. 

    * Energy Training Partnership Grants. Live. 13 July 2009, 2-3:30 p.m. ET.  A recording of the webinar will be available by 3pm ET on 17 July 2009..

    * Pathways Out of Poverty Grants. Live. 13 July 2009, 2-3:30 p.m. ET. A recording of the webinar will be available by 3pm ET on 17 July 2009.

    * State Energy Sector Partnerships and Training Grants. Pre-recorded. Available 10 July 2009 at 3 p.m. ET.

    * Green Capacity Building Grants. Pre-recorded. Available 10 July 2009 at 3 p.m. ET.

If you are in the field of workforce development, this conference call is for you. Presenters will speak about green curricula they've developed to prepare youth and adults for work in energy efficiency and weatherization. They will also discuss commonly recognized green certifications and credentials. If you miss the call, check the website for a call recording.

WHAT: Green Curriculum and Certification: A Green For All Community of Practice Learning Call

WHEN: Wednesday, 8 July 2009

11am PST / 2pm EST

RSVP:

At Green For All, we get more than 1,000 calls each month from people looking to find green-collar jobs or to hire green-collar workers. We just can't get to every call, so we've set up a new webpage to help people find green-collar job postings and green-collar job training. Check it out.

The Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) has set up a new blog called "Train Tracks" to keep us all updated on key dates and important information related to local Recovery Act planning and implementation. CSD administers the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), the Community Services Block Grant program (CSBG), and the Lead Hazard Control Program (Lead).

Over one billion Recovery dollars have gone out the door since our last Recovery Alert. The Department of Energy has announced $592 million for weatherization in ten states. It also announced $507 million for the State Energy Program in 21 states. And on June 29th, President Barack Obama and Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced "major changes" to lighting standards and a $346 million Recovery investment to develop, deploy, and use energy efficiency technologies in commercial buildings and homes. Get the news here: