Certainly building wind turbines or solar panels are considered green collar jobs, but any career path that makes a positive impact on the environment, sustainability and energy efficiency could be considered green collar. If it’s time to start job hunting, consider some of these resources to help you land your dream green job:

1. Straight to the Source

A good place to start is identifying a few companies you’re interested in working for. Instead of combing endless job postings, go straight to the company’s own job board.

In 2010, Newsweek examined the top 500 companies in the United States and ranked them based on which companies were the greenest. The top five green companies include Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Johnson & Johnson and Intel.[1]

2. Tune Up Your Skills

When you’re searching for a job, it seems like all employers want is experience, experience, experience.

If you’ve got talents like construction or landscaping, but aren’t familiar with green practices, volunteering or seeking a green internship can hone your skills for free. This increases your networking and sometimes leads to long term employment if you prove yourself valuable.

3. Study Up

When you’re interviewing for a job, having some knowledge about the background of the company and what they value is critical. In green industries, people are especially passionate about their work. Reading up on some basic facts about global warming or greenhouse gasses should help increase your green IQ.

The more you learn about the green industry, the easier it will be to find your niche. The Green Collar Blog has info to help job seekers with all different kinds of backgrounds find green jobs.

4. Social Media

More and more these days our identities are becoming intertwined with our Facebook profiles and Twitter accounts. For an industry on the cutting edge, proficiency in social media can be critical to green jobs. Connecting through social media is a great way to start or get involved with environmentally friendly projects.

5. The Department of Labor

When he was running for office, President Barrack Obama pledged to spend $150 billion over 10 years to create 5 million green collar jobs.[2] While we have to wait and see how his pledge works out, The Department of Labor is doing their part to get citizens involved with green jobs. They have information about green jobs in all 50 states, links to green job postings and green job legislation.

6. The Job Corps

The Job Corps has been around since the 1930’s with the goal of giving young people age 16-24 free vocational training to start their careers. In recent years they’ve put an emphasis on specialized green training. Some of the careers you can train for with Job Corps include hybrid car manufacturing, green building, waste composting and energy retrofitting.

7. Idealist.org

Idealist is sort of like a one stop shop for everything green career related. Their job search site allows you to search for thousands of jobs across multiple industries. They also have information about volunteer opportunities, events, career fairs and much more.

8. Green Job Board

The Green Job Board gets right down to the business of finding a green job. Their simple search tool can find you a wealth of green jobs in your area. If you’re looking to get more specialized, they have links to green jobs by city, state and category.

9. Environmental Career Center

The Environmental Career Center lets you create a profile and upload your resume to their website. Their search tool helps you find job postings and career events going on in the green industry. They also have numerous featured green employers so you can learn more about leading companies.

10. Jobs for Change

Change.org started as a way for people to stand up for causes they believe in. They’ve now evolved with a website that helps job seekers find jobs that make a difference. In addition to their database of jobs they have career advisors, career blogs and job searching tips.

1. Newsweek. (n.d.). “Green Rankings 2010.” Retrieved April 16, 2011 from the Newsweek website: http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/green-rankings.html.

2. Walsh, Bryan. (May 26, 2008). “What Is a Green-Collar Job, Exactly?” Retrieved April 17, 2011 from the Time website: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1809506,00.html.

Author Info: Brandon Farestad-Rittel writes about green ways to keep more green in your pocket. Check out more of his work at sites like CouponSherpa.com to find out how to save money at eco-friendly stores like Gaiam and Eco Paper.

Syndication Info: This content has been syndicated by Nathan Brown, the targeted recruiter for Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage’s solar power internships and promoter of do it yourself solar.

Sources
[1] http://www.newsweek.com/feature/2010/green-rankings.html

[2] http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1809506,00.html

Come learn about the latest research into green jobs from the County of Hawai`i and stratagies for partnering for green jobs funding. Specific funding opportunities will be shared. Specific partner opportunities will be shared. Open discussion at the end with panel from the County and State.

This meeting was put together by Hawai`i State Workforce Development.

If you’re into the green jobs movement, this seminar is for you.

Hawaii Island Green Collar Jobs Funding
Click here to download and share PDF flyer for the Green Collar Jobs Funding – Employer Workshop

An employer workshop to be held
Thursday, August 13th 9:00 am to 11:00 am registration: 8:30 am
Workforce Development Division Presentation Room
1990 Kino`ole Street, Suite 102
(Next to Kawate Seed Shop)

Topics of Interest

• Green Collar Jobs and Greener Economies – Brent Norris, Green Collar Technologies
• Green Job Employer – Michael Kaleikini, Puna Geothermal Venture
• Overview of Specific Grant Opportunities Related to Hawai`i Island – John Carroll, Hawai`i Island Workforce & Economic Development Ohana
• How to Establish Partnerships & Alliances to Acquire Funding – Alex Frost, Hawai`i County Research & Development Department and Susan Akiyama, Office of Housing & Community Development

In partnership with:

• Hawai`i Island Workforce & Economic Development Ohana
• Hawai`i County Workforce Investment Board
• Hawai`i Island Chamber of Commerce
• Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Hawai`I
• Kanoelehua Industrial Area Association
• Big Island Workplace Connection

Call Bunnie Au-Suehiro at 981.2860 ext. 236 for registration & payment information.

Workforce Development Division
1990 Kino`ole Street, Suite 102
(Next to Kawate Seed Shop)

Click here to download PDF flyer
Green Collar Jobs Funding – Employer Workshop

An employer workshop to be held
Thursday, August 13th 9:00 am to 11:00 am registration: 8:30 am

Workforce Development Division Presentation Room

1990 Kino`ole Street, Suite 102
(Next to Kawate Seed Shop)

Green Collar Jobs and Greener Economies
Brent Norris, Green Collar Technologies

Green Job Employer
Michael Kaleikini, Puna Geothermal Venture

• John Carroll, Hawai`i Island Workforce & Economic Development Ohana

• Alex Frost, Hawai`i County Research & Development Department

• Susan Akiyama, Office of Housing & Community Development

In partnership with:

• Hawai`i Island Workforce & Economic Development Ohana

• Hawai`i County Workforce Investment Board

• Hawai`i Island Chamber of Commerce

• Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Hawai`I

• Kanoelehua Industrial Area Association

• Big Island Workplace Connection

Call Bunnie Au-Suehiro at 981.2860 ext. 236 for registration & payment information.

Workforce Development Division
1990 Kino`ole Street, Suite 102
(Next to Kawate Seed Shop)

May 18th, 2009 (Hilo, Hawai`i) Green Collar Technologies has partnered with Goodwill Industries of Hawai`i to deliver innovative green collar youth training and job program in support of Goodwill’s Ola I Ka Hana Program. Goodwill acts as the employer of record to help the youth earn good wages and credits towards earning their high school diplomas.

“This is just the type of program we believe can have long term impact in our community. Working with youth builds our foundation of sustainability.” said Brent Norris of Green Collar Technologies.

These green collar work / training programs are being facilitated by sustainable living instructors from the recently completed, Sustainable Living Educational Series in Kona, Hawai`i.

Sustainable Gardening expert and biologist, Claudia Ziroli stated, “this is a unique challenge to work with the youngest in our communities that can also benefit the most. We’re helping teach the next generation of sustainability practitioners how to live more self-sufficiently on the island.”

Green Collar Technologies is developing several Summer Youth programs designed to provide safe work environments and green collar training in offline and online sustainability. Youth will work on various projects such as rainwater harvesting, gardening, farming, composting and telecommuting.

Goodwill’s Ola I Ka Hana program offers free services to at-risk youth, ages 15-21, who are out of school. Each participant works to develop an individualized assessment and service strategy. The strategy addresses educational goals, job skills, and employability. Participants also receive job readiness training sessions to focus on resume development, job search and interviewing skills, job applications and career interests. Youth also have the opportunity to have mentors, or paid internships through this program. A primary goal is to assist youth in obtaining their high school diploma.

Green Collar Technologies is a federally recognized, 501c3 operating in Hawai`i. Green Collar Technologies help create, organize, research and develop sustainable initiatives towards creating a global model for sustainability on Hawaii Island.

###

Contacts
Bettye S. Williams -Hawaii County Operations Director, Goodwill Industries of Hawaii, Inc., 808-961-0307 x1401, BWilliams@higoodwill.org

Brent Norris – Director, Green Collar Technologies

aloha@greencollartech.com – http://greencollartech.com

“The completed agreement brings millions of rural Americans closer to having access to broadband and other cutting-edge communications technologies,” Schafer said. “This kind of high-speed internet connectivity will lead to increased investment and business opportunities in rural communities.”

The loan closing executes an agreement USDA Rural Development announced on March 25, 2008, when it approved a $267 million loan to Open Range. In addition to the USDA Rural Development loan, Open Range has secured $100 million in financing from One Equity Partners, the private equity arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Open Range, headquartered near Denver, Colo., plans to use Wi-Max technology to offer affordable, wireless broadband service. In addition, the company will offer satellite services enabling rural residents to connect to the internet almost anywhere in the country. Open Range will provide services to rural communities in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Wisconsin.

USDA Rural Development’s mission is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life for rural residents. Rural Development has invested nearly $111 billion since 2001 for equity and technical assistance to finance and foster growth in homeownership, business development, and critical community and technology infrastructure. More than 2 million jobs have been created or saved through these investments.

Further information on rural programs is available at a local USDA Rural Development office or by visiting USDA’s web site at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov.

Sustainable practices for improving our local economy, community and environment are one of the top priorities in the Community Development Plans for North Kohala, South Kohala, North and South Kona, and Puna Districts.

In support of this resolution, Green Collar Technologies has agreed to research and produce a report for the Sustainable Living Institute as part of a project for Hawai`i County Research and Development. In addition to organizing and implementing eight sustainable living workshops Green Collar Technologies will produce a Green Job Environmental Scan as part of an early CDP implementation action in West and East Hawai’i.

By facilitating discussions with local businesses and identifying emerging green sectors we hope to learn answer to the following questions:

• What is the current and future capacity for green jobs in sustainable industries on Hawai`i Island?
• Where can the County have the most positive impact in the area of green jobs?

Green Collar Technologies will coordinate, collaborate and learn from key business stakeholders to facilitate the discussion, compile the data, and deliver the first green jobs environmental scan and current status of sustainable industries on Hawai`i Island to prepare our island for emerging federal funding opportunities.

Methodology
Working within the contexts of current planning and research efforts, Green Collar Technologies will communicate, coordinate and cooperate with Hawai`i County Research and Development to identify, convene, and facilitate discussion with major stakeholders on the island. 

The Green Job Environmental Scan, containing materials from all presenters at eight workshops and information from facilitated discussion with local green business community will be used as basis for producing a Hawaii Island Green Job Environmental Scan and made available for free download as a pdf file from the Internet.

The report will result in names and numbers which uncover specific capacities in areas of green employment in easy to understand text, charts, graphs and data visualizations which best communicate the findings to help set the stage for R&D strategic planning and potential federal funding.

Work on this project is subject to change without notice and will be performed in accordance with the Hawaii County Code of Ethics and in the public interest.

Look for results of the report in PDF format to emerge Q2 2009.

Your comments are appreciated (below).

First, Global Insight redefines green jobs: 

“any activity that generates electricity using renewable or nuclear fuels, agriculture jobs supplying corn or soy for transportation fuel, manufacturing jobs producing goods used in renewable power generation, equipment dealers and wholesalers specializing in renewable energy or energy-efficiency products, construction and installation of energy and pollution management systems, government administration of environmental programs, and supporting jobs in the engineering, legal, research and consulting fields.”

We’ve added this to our Green Collar Jobs Definition, draft study. Second, we’ve got some new green jobs numbers: We’ll take this a step further when we conduct our own research. Key correlations between the job numbers, employers, workers and agencies will be taken into account. Much of the researchin the report is “scenario-based.”

A couple more quotes I find interesting in the report:

“In this report, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Global Insight have examined the economic benefits of the ‘Green Economy’ – that part of economic activity which is devoted to the reduction of fossil fuels, the increase of energy efficiency, and the curtailment of greenhouse gas emissions.”

The report also states in part,

“Green Jobs in 2006 were distributed across the country. Approximately 85% were located in metropolitan areas while the remaining 15% were in non-metropolitan counties.”

The footnote states,

“Green Jobs 2006 totals for Metropolitan areas include all categories except Renewable Power Generation.”

A couple paragraphs up the report states,

“We estimate that as of 2006 there were just more than 750,000 Green Jobs in the U.S. economy. More than half of existing jobs were in Engineering, Legal, Research and Consulting, revealing the importance of these indirect jobs to the Green Economy. The second largest category was Renewable Power Generation, with more than 127,000 jobs.”    

Download the full report by Global Insight in PDF format from the U.S. Global Mayors Website.  

Get this book, “The Green Collar Economy” by Van Jones and meet me in the park at noon. The Hawai`i Green Jobs Revolution is now!

I’m putting ”The Green Collar Economy” by Van Jones down just long enough to write this post. The Foreward hints at one of the many opportunities a Green Collar Economy might present in Hawai`i,

The United States has far greater domestic energy resources than Iceland or Sweden. We sit atop the second-largest fund of geothermal resources in the world.

The Introduction identifies a green collar problem we’re already experiencing,

One big problem is simply that green employers can’t find enough trained, green-collar workers to do all the jobs.

The book appears in stark contrast to the State Workforce Development Council’s 2008 report to the Governor. I’m sure the real answer is somewhere in between but Van Jones outlines several of our economic issues before they were at the levels we’re expericing now. The State Workforce Development Council’s 2008 report seems to hint at passing problems rather than identifying the much larger issues. Nothing against the council. As an outsider, I don’t even know who they are but something seems to be in need of re-evaluation.

This book will offer many perception shifts. From a Green Jobs perspective, it’s really nice to read,

And don’t think of green-collar workers as only laboring in the energy sector. Though the need for a clean-energy revolution will be the main driver in revamping the economy, we will also need welltrained, well-paid workers in a range of green industries: materials reuse and recycling, water management, local and organic food production, mass transportation, and more.

Although I believe the digital economy will continue to lead us for some time towards self sustainability in a global economy. I’d like to also read, “The Green Collar Technology Worker, How s/he are building a friction economy.” Maybe that book is already being written? Nah, it’s probably just a blog somewhere. Anyway, around here, we have an affinity for this greener economy and I’m so stoked to read the following quote,

The time has come for the nation to give greater support to the problem solvers—the clean-energy producers, green builders, eco-entrepreneurs, community educators, green-collar workers, and green consumers.

Does this mean a Green Economy or Green Collar Jobs are on the way to Hawai`i Island?

To answer that you just have to ask yourself, “Do you want a Greener Hawai`i?” If you do, it will be and If it is to be, it will require work.

Future Green Collar Workers will want to read this book. There will probably be a Green Jobs test in the future. Or maybe tomorrow.

Also read:

Hawaii gained 4158 tech jobs in 5 years, report says

Now that September 27th has passed, here’s a couple next steps we can take to grow this movement locally:

1. Consider green jobs when you vote on November 4th and urge others to join you. We’re sending a separate event report to the mayoral candidates and we’ll publish any responses on our website.
2. Let’s get together again on Monday October 6th at 6pm at the Hawai`i Innovation Center at Hilo. We’ll use the opportunity to bring more folks into the fold that couldn’t make the event this past Saturday. We had a really successfully event but instead of a big celebration, let’s use this meeting to plan subsequent efforts. Specifically, let’s address the following:

•  Organization
• Mission and goals
• Next steps

We’re ready to build a new greener local economy. It’s time to get to work. We’ve planted the seeds for powerful green-collar training programs, clean energy investments on Hawai`i Island and we’re green jobs-focused. So let’s rally the social and business networks. Let’s engage our leaders to invest in us. No matter who wins at any level on November 4th, we will need to take our efforts to a new level after the election.

Mahalo a nui loa for coming to Saturday’s event. Mahalo for hanging around and sharing your thoughts about green jobs. Mahalo for your participation. 

In case you missed the promo video…

Everyone is welcome to join us on this National Day of Action to Support Green Collar Workers on Hawai`i island and Jobs for All. To celebrate, we’ll work and learn about green topics of interest to all.

Join us Saturday September 27th at the Hawai`i Innovation Center in downtown Hilo. Expect plenty of room and bandwidth for all to setup your laptops and spread out in the classroom.

For complete details read original post here.

Anyone interested in supporting this event or Green Collar Workers on Hawai`i Island should contact Brent Norris at Green Collar Technologies : 808-896-7656

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