MADISON - In celebration of National Clean Energy Week, Gov. Tony Evers this week highlighted the launch of the U.S. Climate Alliance Governors' Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative. Bolstered by robust federal investment by the Biden-Harris Administration toward building a national clean energy economy, the Alliance's new initiative aims to expand the clean energy workforce nationwide and support job and apprenticeship training in innovative industries and technologies by training 1 million new registered apprentices by 2035 across the Alliance's member states and territories.
"Apprenticeship as we know it today started right here in Wisconsin over a century ago, and we are proud to continue leading the way as we work to build a workforce and economy that doesn't treat protecting our environment or creating good-paying jobs and a strong economy as goals that are mutually exclusive-in Wisconsin, we're doing both," said Gov. Evers. "Our work to build a 21st-century workforce and economy is about preparing Wisconsin for a strong future and doing everything we can to recruit, train, and retain the next generation of workers to meet the demands of the 21st Century. And Wisconsin is ready for the challenge."
The Governors' Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative is aimed at accelerating the development of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive climate-ready workforce and expanding career pathways for new and existing workers into the good-paying jobs that will be created as the United States advances its climate goals and works toward a just economic and energy transition.
To advance progress toward the goals of the Initiative, the Alliance states members will work to collectively support 1 million new workers in completing Registered Apprenticeship programs across the coalition by 2035 and launch cohorts focused on sector-specific strategies to expand pathways into in-demand, climate-ready careers and support new and existing workers across each sector. These cohorts will enable members to collaborate with one another, share evidence-based practices and resources, engage experts and stakeholders, and develop solutions that can be scaled across states and territories to support continued job creation and boost access to high-quality workforce training, including Registered Apprenticeships.
According to the Alliance, while members will customize their Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative plans to address their state's individual needs and challenges, states will also have opportunities to collaborate directly with their workforce development system partners, labor unions, higher education institutions, industry, and other key partners that bring substantial expertise and experience in climate and clean energy fields. Additional information and a full list of the Initiative's goals can be found here.
In 2019, Gov. Evers joined the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 24 governors representing nearly 60 percent of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the U.S. population. The U.S. Climate Alliance is committed to securing a net-zero future in America by advancing state-led, high-impact climate action solutions and achieving the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat climate change.
In May, Gov. Evers announced he would be joining the Alliance's executive committee, which oversees the strategic direction of the bipartisan coalition of governors. Gov. Evers is the first governor from the Midwest to join the Alliance leadership since its inception. The governor's work on the executive committee builds on his administration's efforts to help advance equitable solutions to environmental challenges facing the state and nation, build a transformed, more resilient, clean-energy economy, and ensure a more sustainable future for all.
In recent years, Wisconsin has seen historically low unemployment and a record-high number of Wisconsinites employed. Earlier this year, Gov. Evers also declared 2024 as the "Year of the Worker" in Wisconsin, and this announcement builds on efforts of the Evers Administration to bolster the state's workforce in high-demand, high-need industries to meet the needs of a 21st-century economy, including supporting Wisconsin's successful Registered Apprenticeship and Youth Apprenticeship programs.
Wisconsin was the first in the nation to have a Registered Apprenticeship program and is unique among the 50 states in requiring employers to pay their apprentices for both time worked and time spent in required classroom instruction. Additionally, Wisconsin was the first state in the nation to offer a Youth Apprenticeship program in 1991. Last year, the Registered Apprenticeship program achieved 16,394 enrolled apprentices, a record number since the program began in 1911.
Last month, Gov. Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Administration and the Office of Sustainability and Clean Energy, highlighted the release of the second Clean Energy Plan Progress Report, which showcases Wisconsin's progress toward key components of the state's Clean Energy Plan. First launched by the Evers Administration in 2022, the Clean Energy Plan provides a roadmap for the state to lower energy bills and prices at the pump for Wisconsin families, promote energy independence by reducing reliance on out-of-state energy sources, create an estimated more than 40,000 jobs by 2030, and invest in job training and apprenticeship programs in innovative industries and technologies. The newly completed 2024 Clean Energy Progress Report exemplifies Wisconsin's commitment to workforce development through major investments in job training and apprenticeship programs in clean energy industries and technologies, supporting Gov. Evers' declaration of 2024 as the Year of the Worker.
Additional information on the Governors' Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative can be found here.
