The Mid-Atlantic Regional Collaborative's (MARC) Green Consortium (a group of workforce and education leaders from DC, Maryland and Virginia) announced earlier this month the release of green workforce research reports and green job search resources at marcgreenworks.com. This project was funded through a $4 million competitive grant from the US Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
The research reports, Green Data for a Growing Green Economy, include the following findings:
- The green economy represents an estimated $34.8 billion in terms of DC, Maryland, and Virginia's gross regional product or GRP;
- 8-9% of region's employers with more than one employee have green jobs;
- 235,600 green jobs exist in the region and that number is expected to grow by 12% in the next two years;
- 50% of green jobs were concentrated in the construction, technical services, and education/policy sectors although green jobs were found in 300+ industries;
- The greatest number of green jobs are in energy efficiency and energy conservation;
- Green growth is projected in construction, professional, scientific, technical services and support, and waste management services;
- 75% of the region's green employers offered on-the-job training (OJT) for workers;
- 6,500 green jobs were available at the time of the mid-2010 survey and most openings did not require a degree;
- Jobs requiring a BA degree or above accounted for 69% of green employment in DC, 23% in Maryland, and 26% inVirginia; and
- In DC, the largest gaps (shortages of trained applicants for green jobs) are in the life, physical and social science, architecture and engineering, and business and financial operations occupations while in Maryland and Virginia, the business and financial operations and computer and mathematical occupations are more heavily impacted.
A range of resources for job seekers and employers are available on the www.marcgreenworks.com website, including a job search tool, a list of education and training providers, and information on job market trends.