Newark Neighborhood Revitalization Effort Trains Green-Collar Workers

The Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District (LPCCD) is a Community Development Corporation transforming a low-income neighborhood in Newark into an arts and cultural district. The arts and cultural district will include 300 "green" mixed-income housing units, music festivals, historic restoration projects and the Museum of African American Music. There will be over one-million square feet of development, including sixteen USGBC LEED Certified buildings and participation in the USGBC LEED-Neighborhood Development pilot program.

Essential to LPCCD's revitalization mission is the creation of green-collar jobs. LPCCD partnered with Centrall a New Jersey based business that houses the trades of HVAC, electrical and plumbing in one company. LPCCD and Centrall are collaborating with the local municipality, workforce development program and vocational high school to form the Green Collar Apprenticeship Program (Green-CAP). Green-CAP's goal is to provide 100 residents with a trade license in HVAC, plumbing and electrical. Green-CAP participants will receive on-the-job training on LPCCD's housing development projects and enrollment in the respective trade programs. In addition to the license, Green-CAP graduates will receive a green certificate showing they have work experience and training on green construction projects, providing them with the opportunity to join trade unions or open their own green businesses.

Excerpted from Green-Collar Jobs in America’s Cities by Green for All, the Apollo Alliance, Center for American Progress, and Center on Wisconsin Strategy. Published March 2008