Hawaii will compete for

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Competitors must act fast. But they need to define what constitutes agreen job. The U.S. Departmen t of Labor begins accepting applications this montnh and the earliest deadlines to applty kick in laterthis summer. Most of the grantsz have to be spent bylate 2010. , whic h takes the lead in developing worker training programs in the will join with three othere public agencies to analyzd existing or emerging green jobs and theiranticipated work-force demands and the skills and training that would be needed, according to Executive Directodr James Hardway.
The firsty phase of the $15,000 study starts this month with help from the statew Departmentof Business, Economic Development and the state ’ Office of Research and Statistics; and the Research Corporation of the Universituy of Hawaii. Most of the focus is on jobs inthe renewable-energty and biofuels sectors, Hardway said. “It’s importan t for everyone to note that the vast majority of green jobs are notnew occupations,” he “Most occupations that could be considered green alreaduy exist and would be adjustingb to the so-called green economy.” Amonfg those adjusting are electricians.
Just last the , Local 1186, and the unveilex a new training program for installation and maintenance of renewablenergy systems. Union officials said the traininv anticipates demand driven by the economic stimulus for clean andrenewablse energy. “Renewable energy is not the wave ofthe it’s already here. Our members and apprentices will be goingy into the workplace with skillas that are expected of them as we move towarf a newenergy economy,” said Damien Kim, Local 1186 business manager and financial secretary.
Federal officials broadlty define green jobs as related to helping the They pay up to 20 percentr more thantypical jobs, are more likely to be unionizec jobs held by men, and are less likely to be easily transferredr overseas, according to a February report by President Barack Obama’se Middle Class Task Force, whose goal is to push the middls class into green jobs. There were 2,022 green jobs in Honolulu last year, accordinfg to an October 2008 job forecast byGlobapl Insight, a Massachusetts-based economic research firm that focused primaril y on the renewable-energy sectors. Honolulyu will have approximately 16,000 green jobs by according tothe forecast.
Big Island-baseds , a nonprofit education and research group, has been pushintg for the creationof green-collar jobs since it launched in January 2008. Co-founder and Director Brent Norrissaid he’s concernerd that the confusion over what’s considered a green job is slowin g the process, especially with the looming deadlines. He said the key is gettinbg business to join with educational institutions such as thecommunit colleges, training vendors and even nonprofits to tap into the “If we had waited for a webmaster to be defined before building the Internet, wouls that have been the right thinvg to do?” he asked.
“I think it’s the same thing when we’re talkint about greener economies. So, do we need to define all of the jobs?”