In recognition of National Apprenticeship Week, Community Offshore Wind and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 9 hosted a free workshop for 400 Queens and Brooklyn high school students and young adults to teach them about the available opportunities in the organized finishing construction trades, including jobs working on offshore wind projects.
The day-long workshop, held on Nov. 20, featured hands-on demonstrations of the work that IUPAT District Council 9 members perform, panel discussions on the available career paths in these trades, educational sessions on the enrollment process for apprenticeship programs, and presentations on available union jobs for offshore wind projects.
“Offshore wind is going to create thousands of good, family-sustaining union jobs in New York. It is critical that we make sure New Yorkers are ready to seize the opportunities that the industry brings to communities across the state,” Community Offshore Wind President and Project Director Doug Perkins said. “Community Offshore Wind is committed to making sure every New Yorker who wants a career working on offshore wind has access to the training and support they need to do it. That’s why we’re working closely with IUPAT and labor partners across industries and trades to educate the next generation of New Yorkers about the opportunities available to them, and investing millions of dollars in training programs and facilities, workforce development and wraparound supports for workers in the offshore wind industry.”
New York is expected to see more than 10,000 high-quality jobs created via its offshore wind industry. These jobs include manufacturing, installation, research and development, and operations and maintenance.
Of the over 10,000 new jobs, almost 700 of them would be created from Community Offshore Wind’s most recent proposed project alone, with the developer committed to utilizing union labor. This project is expected to generate approximately $3 billion in economic activity, thus creating hundreds more jobs.
“Learning a trade is one of the best paths to a stable, long-term career. The opportunities that offshore wind will bring to New York in the years to come will create tremendous job growth, particularly for union workers, and we need to make sure the next generation of hardworking New Yorkers are ready to seize these new opportunities when they become available,” District Council 9 Business Manager/Secretary-Treasurer Joseph Azzopardi said. “Community Offshore Wind continues to be a fantastic partner to us as we work to educate young people about the careers available in the trades. Their commitment to opening career pathways for more New Yorkers is what we need to ensure everyone feels the economic benefits offshore wind brings to our state.”
“This [workshop] gives kids from different high schools the opportunity to see what the trades do. Some kids go to college, which is great. others college isn’t for them. We’re letting them know that this is something you can do to earn a middle-class lifestyle and learn a skilled trade and get paid while you are going to school,” Azzopardi said.
Community Offshore Wind announced a $250 million investment in education, workforce development programs and services addressing barriers to New Yorkers from disadvantaged communities who have trouble accessing job opportunities. This investment is meant to provide more equitable access to the type of jobs they provide through several different initiatives.
One such initiative is through a partnership with the United Way of New York State to provide reduced-cost childcare services to every offshore wind worker and trainee in the state. This is meant to help address a big challenge faced by many working parents who have been held back from finding stable and well-paying careers.
Another initiative is a Wraparound/Barriers Fund, which is intended to get rid of barriers to participating in the workforce through partnerships with community organizations to address several key factors, including transportation gaps, enhancing language access through ESL resources and providing individuals with basic needs, including laundry services, business attire, warm clothing and pioneer legal aid for those interested in careers in clean energy.
Yet another big initiative from Community Offshore Wind is the Powering Up the Workforce Fund, which is developing a career-readiness curriculum meant to get participants ready for their union jobs. It also funds mentoring for those who are underemployed.
An Education Fund is one more initiative from Community Offshore Wind. This is meant to support K-12 STEM programming in Title 1 schools, focusing specifically on giving students creative, experiential learning opportunities that can help prepare them for working in offshore wind or other STEM-related career fields.
Each of these initiatives are meant to build upon the track record Community Offshore Wind has set for investing in programs that prepare New Yorkers for offshore wind jobs, as well as sparking an interest in the field among youths. Other past initiatives include working with the Brooklyn Public Library to give away 3,200 science-focused books to families in NYCHA housing, funding field trips to local museums for over 140 New York students and providing scholarships for Brooklyn girls aged 6-14 to attend Tools and Tiaras summer camp.
