Inventory of Clean Energy Education and Workforce Programs in Connecticut's I-91 Corridor

Technical Report · Wed May 22 00:00:00 EDT 2024

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/2368582· OSTI ID:2368582

Moe, Allison ^[1]; Gadzanku, Sika ^[1]; Shepard, Ryan ^[1]; Tinnesand, Heidi ^[1]; Gill, Elizabeth ^[1]

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1. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

This document reports on the findings of an inventory of the educational and workforce development resources in a four-county area on the I-91 corridor in Connecticut. The overarching goal of this exercise is to help the local workforce leaders in Bridgeport, Connecticut to optimize their training programs to support the county's clean energy transition. The inventory generally finds that Fairfield County, where Bridgeport is located, lacks adequate education and training programs compared to other surrounding counties with similar populations. More than half of Fairfield County's programs occur through high school or career technical education programs, suggesting that there are minimal opportunities for workers who are not currently high school students. Much of the existing focus within Fairfield County is on general construction or plumbing and electrical skills. There is room to expand by offering more programs focusing on energy efficiency and renewable energy skills. The document outlines some potential next steps and questions for consideration for the local workforce leaders in Bridgeport. Bridgeport is a city located within Fairfield County in southwestern Connecticut. It is the largest city in Connecticut with an estimated population of 150,000. Through the Department of Energy-funded Communities LEAP program, NREL conducted an analysis of existing education and workforce development (EWD) programs located in Fairfield County that align with (or could support) the worker pipeline for occupations related to building energy efficiency (EE), renewable energy (RE), and clean energy manufacturing. The analysis also looked at EWD offerings in other counties in Connecticut as a point of comparison.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Communities Local Energy Action Program (LEAP); USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 2368582
• Report Number(s): NREL/TP--5500-88569; MainId:89348; UUID:057b1873-a2d5-4397-a0ba-18b45afbae66; MainAdminId:72687
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
apprenticeships
Bridgeport
career
clean energy workforce
Communities LEAP
Connecticut
construction
education and workforce development resources
energy efficiency
HVAC
I-91
Northeast
solar PV
technical assistance
training institutions
training programs
wind
workforce
workforce development
workforce training