Green energy jobs to jump
Antonia Felix, Emporia
Friday, May 28, 2010
It’s official. Renewable-energy jobs in Kansas are growing as fast as lettuce in May.
Last week, the Kansas Department of Labor announced the results of the first-ever survey to identify and measure green jobs in the state. Based on responses from thousands of employers, the Kansas Growing Green Survey lists 20,000 green jobs in Kansas and another 10,000 expected by 2012.
The Labor Department defines primary green jobs as those which “produce a green product or provide a green service in one of five core green-related areas including producing renewable energy and increasing energy efficiency.” The latter accounted for more than half of the primary green jobs in Kansas.
The employers in the survey projected the largest two-to-three year increase in green jobs to be in the areas of renewable energy (121.4 percent) and increasing energy efficiency (56.9 percent), and also anticipated a 37.5-percent increase in clean transportation and fuels, 32.7-percent rise in agriculture and natural resource conservation and 25.7-percent gain in pollution prevention and environmental cleanup.
In the survey, employers described brand-new green jobs and traditional jobs that now incorporate green skills and techniques, such as carpentry, which requires knowledge of new products like highly efficient insulation and the skills to use them.
The study reported that the most common green skills and knowledge that current and future employees need are related to “waste minimization, energy conservation and environmental policies/regulations.” And the need is large: “The future demand for green skills and knowledge is significantly greater than the current demand.”
As outlined in the report, the five core areas of the state’s green jobs are:
• Producing renewable energy: employees who work to produce energy that comes from natural and sustainable resources. These resources can often be regenerated by the natural environment in a relatively short amount of time.
• Increasing energy efficiency: employees who provide, or produce products that provide, a given level of energy service using less energy.
• Agriculture and natural resource conservation: employees who produce products or provide services that are designed to help conserve, maintain and improve the natural environment.
• Pollution prevention and environmental cleanup: employees who produce products or provide services that minimize or prevent the adverse impacts of pollution on the natural environment and human health.
• Clean transportation and fuels: employees who are engaged in the research, development and production of new technologies for energy storage and alternative fuels. Individuals working on improved fuel efficiencies and emissions reductions are also included in this area.
The five occupations with the largest numbers of primary green jobs were carpenters; heating, air conditioning and refrigeration mechanics and installers; construction laborers; landscaping and groundskeeping workers; and assemblers and fabricators.
The study’s objective, according to Labor Secretary Jim Garner’s note in the introduction, is to help businesses, economic development professionals and government officials “plan and prepare for a growing green presence in our labor market.”
Garner hopes that the study’s information will become a tool for sharing effective green practices and, as a result, moving the economy forward.
“Evidence shows a focus on green practices can save money for businesses and improve the bottom line of Kansas employers,” Garner wrote.
Last week’s Department of Labor press release stated that the study sets a benchmark for growing the state’s green business sector.
“We’ve always known that Kansas holds a great potential in the green economy,” remarked Kansas Lt. Governor Troy Findley, “and now we have the data to prove it.
“As Kansas continues to come out of the recession,” Findley added, “we now have the tools to take advantage of our opportunities in the green economy, creating new jobs in the 21st century and becoming a national leader in this emerging market.”
kayt9 (anonymous) says...
for information on salaries being paid, SalaryFor.com http://www.salaryfor.com/
has real salaries posted, job listings, job search tools and a salary calculator to estimate your salary worth. you can post your own salary or view others all for free.
May 28, 2010 at 2:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )