Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor & Industry on October 23 announced the investment of more than $400,000 in a project in Pittsburgh that will support efforts to expand the clean energy industry in the southwestern region and transform it into a research, development and clean energy technology leader.
The 3 Rivers Clean Energy Partnership is a consortium of 12 employers in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Mercer, Washington and Westmoreland counties. The partnership will combine efforts with the International Union of Operating Engineers, which has delivered green building operator training, energy conservation training and on-site energy efficiency training to more than 500 individuals over the past three years.
Combined with $350,000 in private matching funds, the total investment is $760,000.
"Southwestern Pennsylvania was at the heart of our nation's industrial revolution," said Labor & Industry Deputy Secretary for Workforce Development Fred Dedrick. "Through the outstanding efforts of the 3 Rivers Clean Energy Partnership, and organizations like it, this region will be at the heart of our nation's clean energy revolution.
"By investing in today's advanced technologies and by training today's workforce to use them, Pennsylvania is working to ensure its place as a leader in the clean, sustainable energy industry of tomorrow and for years to come," Dedrick said.
More than 6,100 companies are participating in 90 active partnerships in 11 industries. Over four years, more than 61,000 employees from participating companies have completed or are engaged in industry partnership worker training.
These targeted investment grants, made possible through funding by the General Assembly and administered by local workforce investment boards, help industry partnership participants identify specific training needs and skill gaps, help connect young people to careers, help educational and training institutions arrange curriculum to meet business demands, address worker recruitment and retention, develop career ladders within companies, highlight best practices, and promote communication among companies.
Applications and eligibility guidelines for industry partnership and industry partnership worker training program grants are available online at www.paworkforce.state.pa.us under the "Governor Rendell's Strategy for Building a Skilled Workforce" quick link.