Jan. 3, 2023 - In May 2019, Governor Polis released the Roadmap to 100% Renewable Energy by 2040 and Bold Climate Action with a goal of establishing Colorado as a leader in the clean energy economy, including providing high-quality education and training and high-paying jobs. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Energy has highlighted creating clean energy union jobs as one of their top priorities and has created a new Office of Energy Jobs to move the initiative forward.
With these state and national goals in mind, it’s critical that Colorado schools are equipped to raise awareness of these career opportunities and that interested students are prepared to pursue pathways in renewable energy. To support these efforts, the CWDC, Colorado Department of Education (CDE), and the Colorado Office of Career and Technical Education (CTE) collaborated with other state organizations and industry representatives to develop the “Preparing Learners for Renewable Energy Careers” resource to support the development of energy career pathway programs in secondary schools.
The resource outlines energy labor demands, energy pathway development, curriculum development and resources, work-based learning strategies, industry engagement strategies, and more. This resource can be utilized to design opportunities for learners to explore occupations and activities in the renewable energy industry and in the development of career pathway programs leading to careers in energy.
For questions about the resource, or to learn more about engaging in these opportunities, please contact Janae Hunderman at janae.hunderman@state.co.us.