The grant funds the alliance’s GreenPOWER job training program, which brings together labor unions, manufacturers and job training providers to provide workers with the skills they need to succeed in the clean energy economy, the alliance said.

Workers will be trained to manufacture products for the energy-efficient building construction and retrofit industries, the renewable electric power industry, the energy efficient and advanced drive-train vehicle industry and other industries that produce environmentally friendly products using sustainable processes and materials. One specific group targeted by the program will be displaced auto workers, such as those affected by the closing of the Ford Motor Company’s Twin Cities Assembly Plant.

GreenPOWER (Green Partnership of Workforce and Employer Resources) is a collaboration between the Blue Green Alliance Foundation and several organizations, including the United Steelworkers, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, Dunwoody College of Technology, the Institute for Career Development, Minnesota Workforce Investment Boards, Honeywell, and employers and support services providers from around the state.

GreenPOWER will focus on three Minnesota regions chosen for their potential for green manufacturing growth: the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area, Southwest Minnesota and the Iron Range.

“We need skilled workers to manufacture the wind turbines, solar panels, transmission equipment and countless green products that will form the foundation of the clean energy economy,” said David Foster, president of the Blue Green Alliance Foundation. “We look forward to working with our partner unions and environmental organizations, training partners, employers and support services providers throughout Minnesota to make GreenPOWER a success.”

For more information
Read more about the U.S. Department of Labor grant