young mainers weatherization corps recovering america’s youth summit chicago, illinois november...
TRANSCRIPT
Young Mainers Weatherization Corps
Recovering America’s Youth SummitChicago, IllinoisNovember 17-18, 2009
Governor Baldacci’s Vision for Maine…
• An Act Regarding Maine’s Energy Future – A comprehensive energy package passed into law this year that
includes the Governor’s goal of weatherizing all residences and 50 percent of businesses by 2030
– The Governor’s 2009 State of the State address outlined his vision for a youth weatherization corps trained to help meet Maine’s energy goals
– “Maine has the highest dependence on imported fossil fuels of any state, one of the coldest winter climates, and a housing stock built in the era of cheap oil. Fortunately, our people are committed to be part of the solution…it will take a partnership from all sectors”. Gov. John E. Baldacci
Maine’s ARRA Summer Youth Employment Program
• Maine received approximately 4.3 million in ARRA WIA youth funds
• Funding flowed through Maine Department of Labor to Local Workforce Boards.
• Goal – 95% work readiness skill attainment
• Over 700 youth participated during Summer 2009
Young Mainers Weatherization Corps
• A partnership of the Maine Department of Labor, MaineHousing, the four Local Workforce Boards, CAP agencies, employers and service providers.
• Initial goal of training 100 young people to be able to meet Maine’s weatherization needs.
• Local Workforce Boards issued a RFP to solicit proposals from interested organizations.
Demographics of youth participants
• 60 young people from around the state
• Ages 18-24
• WIA eligible – many with multiple barriers
Key program components:
• Work readiness skill attainment
• Safety certification in OSHA – 10
• Weatherization Technician certification
• Paid work experience
Featured project:Kibby Wind Power Project
• Located at Kibby Mountain and Kibby Range in geographically remote Franklin County.
• Partnering with the CareerCenter, Adult Education and local employers – 15 youth participated in a 6-week work experience and training on construction trades centered on green power/wind farm implementation projects.
• Unique Feature: Participating youth given opportunity to get in on the ground floor of Maine’s up and coming wind energy industry.
Featured project: LearningWorks
• LearningWorks is a Portland, Maine non-profit dedicated to providing learning opportunities for at-risk youth, the immigrant community, and low-income families.
• Enrolled 22 youth in the Weatherization Corps.
• Students learned green job skills in building maintenance while weatherizing low-income housing units.
• Unique Features:
– Participants enrolled in weatherization tech registered pre-apprenticeship
– Students completed OSHA-10, OSHA-30, LEAD Safe Renovator (DEP), NCCER & CASA work readiness certifications in addition to Weatherization Tech certification.
– 192 hours of work during the eight weeks counted towards Green Apprenticeship
Weatherization in the news…
• http://www.wabi.tv/news/7344/employing-young-workers-in-weatherization
Early outcomes
• Outcome data analysis is still in the early stages.
• Tracking youth outcomes for employment and retention , although important, will be very difficult due to the short duration of youth participation.
• Information learned during monitoring and follow-up was overwhelmingly positive from provider organizations, worksites, youth and supervisors.
• Currently work readiness attainment is at approximately 70% and rising.
• A Recent update from LearningWorks found that:– 21 of 22 students completed the summer program.– 11 of the 21 are employed in the field including 8 in registered apprenticeships– 5 have gone to college– 5 unknown/unemployed
Challenges and next steps
• Summer Employment Programs have been wildly successful. Until ARRA funding we had no summer work experience program.
• Although not all the funding was spent in 2009,without additional funding a program for Summer 2010 would have to be considerably smaller than this year’s.
• The Green Jobs economy is growing and there is a lot of work to be done to identify other “green” skills and training that are needed now and for the future – in addition to current training in weatherization tech and energy auditor.
Stephen R. Duval - Division Director, Policy and EvaluationMaine Department of Labor Bureau of Employment Services45 Commerce Center DriveAugusta, Maine 04333Phone: 207-623-7988, 1-800-794-1110(TTY)[email protected]
Libby Stone-SterlingLabor Program SpecialistMaine Department of LaborBureau of Employment Services45 Commerce Center DriveAugusta, Maine 04333Phone: 207-623-7969, 1-800-794-1110(TTY)[email protected]
For more information:
The Maine Department of Labor provides Equal Opportunity in employment and programs.Auxiliary aids and services are available to individuals with disabilities upon request.