Good Company develops market opportunities for companies with products and services that are good for the environment and good business.

Green Jobs & Workforce Development

The Texas Foundation for Innovative Communities, with the support of Good Company Associates, has launched a Green Jobs Initiative. Under this new program, funded initially by a Wagner-Peyser Grant from the Governor’s Office, through the Texas Workforce Commission, we have together forged a new set of relationships integral to an expanding Central Texas “Green Corridor” Collaboration of Schools, Colleges, and Universities, local workforce boards, utilities, chambers of commerce, and green businesses.

The Green Jobs Initiative will provide quality information about emerging clean energy industries, and targeted subsectors, and provide a bridge to companies in those industries located or working in Texas. A recent study by the Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance predicts 100,000 jobs added in the energy efficiency field in the next 10 years (380,000 in the South as a whole). This makes our initiative even more pertinent and timely as we seek to coordinate training approaches within the education and training resources in Texas. A memorandum of understanding has been signed with a growing circle of training and funding organizations to develop a coordinated approach to developing a green economy in Texas and to leverage the Green Jobs Business Council. The Initiative will provide the burgeoning clean energy industry a consolidated avenue for impacting state training policy and workforce training funds and will provide our collaborative partners with information about emerging standards and available new curriculum in these evolving industries.

For more information, please see Overview of the TFIC Green Jobs Initiative

Green Jobs News

Green training and demonstration center opens

San Antonio - When then-Mayor Phil Hardberger announced the 11 initiatives of Mission Verde, the goal was to position San Antonio as a national leader in the new energy economy. On Monday — almost exactly a year later — Mayor Julián Castro introduced the Mission Verde Center @ Cooper, the first-of-its-kind education, training and research center for renewable and energy-efficient technologies. More…

Research and Reports

Retrofitting the Workforce: Smart Energy Technologies

Smart Energy subsector report.

Retrofitting the Workforce: Geothermal Heat Pumps

Renewable Energy subsector report.

Retrofitting the Workforce: Commissioning and Retro-Commissioning

Energy Efficiency subsector report.

Presentations from the Geothermal Heat Pump Training Forum held in Austin on March 26, 2010

Overview of GHP Certifications
Howard Newton, Chair of IGSHPA’s Training Committee

GHP Design
Don Penn, PE, CGGD Image Engineering Group

GHP Drilling & Installation
Jimmy Gaffney, Earth Tech

GHP Installation
Mike Hammond, ClimateMaster

Presentations from the Green Jobs Initiative Conference held in Austin on March 26, 2010

Training the Next Generation, Commissioning Professionals and Technician
A presentation by Liz Fischer, Director, Building Commissioning Association

Retrofitting the Workforce for Net Zero Energy Buildings
A presentation by Joe Deringer, Director, Staff Scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

South Central Provider of Solar Instructor Training
A presentation by Ken Whiteside, Director, Educational Program Development for Ontility

TFIC Newsletters

October 2009
December 2009
February 2010
April/May 2010

Central Texas Clean Energy Initiatives

Published in November of 2009, these publications inventory clean energy initiatives in the Central Texas region from San Antonio to the Dallas-Ft Worth Metroplex.

Recent News about Green Jobs

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Report:Energy Efficiency Services Sector: Workforce Education and Training Needs, March 2010
This new study presents LBNL’s assessment of the current state of energy efficiency education and training programs, and analyzes training and education needs to support expected growth in the energy efficiency services workforce.

New York Times Energy & Environment Report:“Stimulus Aid is Slow to Reach Energy Savers.”, By Kate Galbraith, April 21, 2010
This report looks at not only how the spending of stimulus money is lagging, but also how difficult it can be to find workers who are trained and qualified to do the work.

Newsweek Report: “The Real Green Revolution, Clean tech will create jobs, but subtly.”, By Rana Foroohar, April 2, 2010

Texas Tribune Report: “Investing in Efficiency” By Kate Galbraith, March 22, 2010