LEED Fellow April Ambrose shares her views on the importance of apprenticeships in the green building industry.

Feature image: University of Arkansas students learn about PV installation through an on-site solar installation lab. Photo credit: University of Arkansas at Hope-Texarkana.

The institutionalization of high-performing materials, resilient design and verified green buildings stems from the market transformation driven by USGBC and the LEED rating system. Twenty years ago, this was a distant dream requiring a seemingly impossible paradigm shift. We are currently in a similar shift in workforce development.

Most companies in our emerging industry have traditionally trained new staff almost completely internally. Additionally, the competitive nature of new business models in an emerging industry has reduced collaboration on workforce strategies and career alignments. Fortunately, many are drawn to careers that help combat climate change, and this passion has sustained us for some time. However, as our industry becomes more established, we need a new collective strategy.

Building a seamless pipeline

Cooperatively, we must develop an equitable, seamless pipeline of clean economy career education and skill development. This pipeline will ensure diverse students and adults gain quality, family-sustaining jobs; employers access a qualified, diverse workforce; and public and private partners streamline offerings and leverage funding together to reduce our collective impact on climate change and human health.

A contiguous green jobs pipeline begins with exposing K-12 students and job seekers to our industry's opportunities through career exploration curricula, industry speakers, project tours, career fairs or media. Interested individuals are then connected to training pathways in higher education, trade schools or intermediary credential training programs, connecting or overlapping with apprenticeships, internships or fellowships. Ongoing career progression includes mentorship, career coaching, professional development, reskilling and entrepreneurship. Collaborations among various organizations are critical to ensuring fluid movement through these stages.

Historically, many green building careers, including those of LEED consultants, energy modelers and commissioning agents, have been synonymous with higher education degrees. While these experiences provide valuable knowledge and soft skills, most firms would admit that each individual still requires significant internal training to provide value within the organization. This approach can inadvertently create barriers to entry for individuals from diverse backgrounds and exclude potentially valuable pools of talent. To foster inclusivity and address the evolving demands of the industry, there's a notable pivot toward prioritizing skills acquisition and on-the-job training.

Internships have been used to this end, though they are often seasonal and unpaid, with no set curricula. These opportunities rarely result in credentials and are subject to nepotism. Instead, a more effective mechanism is the apprenticeship, which offers a structured framework to learn technical skills on the job under the guidance of experienced professionals while earning a wage. Apprenticeships democratize green career access by prioritizing potential and aptitude over formal qualifications, creating opportunities for underrepresented groups and promoting diversity within the workforce.

Left: April Ambrose speaks at the Empower Arkansas event. Photo credit: Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation. Right: A Seal Solar residential installation in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Photo credit: Seal Solar.

What is an apprenticeship?

The registered apprenticeship model has seven required components. An apprenticeship is

1. Led by industry professionals. Employers define the skills or competencies desired, credentials, and alignment with industry standards. Thus, the focus is on the highest-demand occupations and eliminates overtraining in any single sector.
2. A paid job. Apprentices are hired first! The focus is on aptitude, curiosity and willingness to learn a job they do not yet have the skills to perform. As skills increase, apprentices receive guaranteed wage increases. Most employers also pay apprentices while they are in training, resulting in the "earn-as-you-learn" moniker.
3. On-the-job-learning. A variety of job experiences give a full-spectrum understanding of the industry, sector, job and career path, and all work is done under the mentorship of an experienced professional. The minimum requirement is 2,000 hours per year, which is full-time employment.
4. Inclusive of related technical instruction. Classroom-style technical education can either be front-loaded or distributed throughout the apprenticeship. At a minimum, this is 144 hours per year, or about 2-3 hours per week. Employers choose the training methods, programs, curricula, etc. necessary to achieve desired skill outcomes, and there is no cost to the apprentice for this education.
5. Attentive to diversity. Designed to reflect the local community's diversity, apprenticeships ensure access, equity and inclusion, while being nondiscriminatory and incorporating anti-harassment recruitment practices.
6. High-quality and safe. Apprentices receive good training that will help them in their careers and supervision to ensure safety on the job.
7. A credential opportunity. Apprentices receive a U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) Registered Apprenticeship certificate showcasing the skills they've earned. Ideally, they also receive a portable, nationally recognized industry credential that communicates these skills competitively in any market or state.

Benefits for both apprentices and employers

Additional apprentice benefits include a path for advancement, since apprenticeships are integrated into career ladders and progressions within an industry. Program incentives in the form of guaranteed pay raises, no-cost training, personal credentials and contributions to their personal brand. Some programs include career coaching services like resume development, interview support and reduced barriers to entry with support services for transportation, child care, etc. While the apprentices should incur no cost in an apprenticeship, some states allow the use of the 529 college savings plan and veteran's education benefits, for things like books, equipment, utilities, transportation and child care during an apprenticeship.

Employers receive may receive financial benefits like training cost reimbursement for education provided during an apprenticeship, and/or a state tax credit per apprentice. Research on apprenticeships show a skilled labor retention rate of approximately 90%. Employer investment in skills growth reduces staff desire to leave a company for continued career progression. Apprenticeships can also help employers meet licensing requirements and IRA labor provisions for solar installations (over 1MW) and 179D (energy efficiency upgrades).

Employers can either sponsor their own apprenticeships or use intermediaries who file all paperwork to DOL or the state apprenticeship agency and provide additional support, including career exposure education, talent recruitment, project management, training cost reimbursement, national alignment, collaborative funding, training/curricula suggestions and workforce expertise. Pre-apprenticeships connect directly to youth, providing supplemental education while in school before transitioning to on-the-job training.

Not limited to the traditional trades, like plumbing, electric and construction, apprenticeships of one to four years are being developed for the fields of HVAC, building controls, boiler maintenance, energy auditing, weatherization, testing services, solar installers, facility maintenance and commissioning.

University of Arkansas students learn about PV installation through an on-site solar installation lab. Photo credit: University of Arkansas at Hope-Texarkana.

Challenges of apprenticeships

If the system sounds too good to be true, let's talk about where it isn't. Not every role can be trained in an on-the-job setting, especially given licensure requirements. If the technical training for a job does not require at least 144 hours of instruction, it's not considered apprenticeable. For example, teaching an electrician the additional skills to install electric vehicle chargers is probably a workshop rather than a full apprenticeship. Thus, we still need funding for those types of training. Related soft skills, like work ethic, communications skills, task and time management, creativity, and continuous learner mentality that are inherent in higher education degrees do have real value (but are they alone worth the debt?).

Additionally, while the green building industry uses new technologies, it does not necessarily create completely new occupations. For example, while the Department of Energy requires 15% of the labor on solar projects over 1MW in size, DOL does not recognize solar installer as an apprenticeable position. Rather, it would suggest construction laborer and electrician as potential apprenticeships, but there can be difficulties in integrating new technologies into traditional trade and union programs.

Training programs don't always match the needs of employers in this evolving ecosystem. For example, having a person in a seat at the local community college for an hour each day interrupts the ability for the company to truly integrate an apprentice into the work of the organization. Flexible delivery methods and increased funding to pay qualified trainers is critical.

Apprenticeship can be the start of a career, but if some people need support in advance of qualifying for an apprenticeship, we also need a variety of industry career entry points. Organizations like Goodwill are now adding short solar training sessions that provide basic credentials and wrap-around support services focused on the formerly incarcerated. Other programs offer training adaptions to those with varying abilities, like Teaching the Autism Community Trades in Maryland, which enables autistic individuals to fill advanced manufacturing roles and educates their managers on interacting appropriately.

Shorter programs of 6-10 weeks that bridge the gap for skills transfer, soft skills improvement, career introductions or basic credentialing (OSHA, EPA, etc.) are also valuable intercessor programs. Virginia's Fast Forward Program or the Arkansas Innovation Hub Skills to Launch program are good examples of this. Much of the IRA and BIL funding is also targeted to disadvantaged communities, minorities, veterans, reentry and reskilling, so new and existing programs are being developed and modified to this end.

For employers interested in taking the first step to access diverse skilled labor, here are some suggestions for getting started:

1. Ensure that you are offering a quality job by internally reviewing your company's practices against Jobs for the Future's Quality Jobs Framework. This may be your best attraction and retention tool.
2. Take the long view. Finding adequate skilled labor today requires a commitment to work further upstream to increase the flow of qualified candidates for the industry over time. Activate your company's involvement through industry career exposure, providing input to education programs regarding your training needs, partnering for specific program development or offering expert staff for a few hours a month to transfer technical knowledge. To do so requires that you communicate your workforce needs very specifically. What skills and industry credentials are needed for each of your roles? What internal career mobility can you offer, and how does that match/connect to the larger industry? (For inspiration, see IREC's green building career map. If you feel apprenticeship is right for you, check out Apprenticeships in Clean Energy.

The specific financial incentives and support networks for apprenticeship vary per state and sector, but this workforce strategy enables us to harness the power of a wider workforce toward our collective goal of reducing our impact on climate change and human health, while increasing our community's skilled workforce and contributing significantly to economic development.

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