The Maine Governor’s Energy Office announced ReVision Energy as a recipient of a Clean Energy Partnership Workforce Development grant during their December Maine Climate Council meeting. ReVision Energy will be awarded $300,000 to advance workforce development and training for the clean energy field.
Funded by the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan, the Clean Energy Partnership is an initiative focused on preparing more Maine people for jobs in the growing clean energy and energy efficiency fields, advancing innovation in the clean energy sector, and achieving Governor Mills’ goal of 30,000 clean energy jobs in Maine by 2030. It will enhance the pipeline of skilled workforce in the clean energy fields, helping the state to meet the goals and outcomes identified in the December 2020 report “Maine Won’t Wait.”
With this grant, ReVision Energy will increase the visibility of clean energy careers, develop tools to assist job-seekers and students in the identification of solar career pathways, develop and deliver trainings and apprenticeships resulting in industry-recognized credentials, provide hands-on experience opportunities to trainees, and address barriers to participation for underrepresented populations.
ReVision aims to engage 850 students via our Tiny Climate Classroom, engage 100 job seekers through statewide webinars, support 110 participants in attaining NABCEP PV Associate certification, and support 16 participants in attaining a newly developed PV Design certification.
“ReVision Energy appreciates the Governor’s Energy Office’s commitment to clean energy in Maine and the opportunity to collaborate on this important effort to make these careers more visible to existing workers and to young people who are seeking to find meaningful work but lack familiarity with the broad opportunities available within the solar industry,” said Vaughan Woodruff, Director of the ReVision Energy Training Center. “Our ability to respond meaningfully to the climate crisis now depends on our ability to build a robust workforce that can design, build, and service clean energy systems. Maine will need to attract and train roughly 6,000 to 7,000 new electricians in the state during the next decade to meet our climate goals. This type of effort requires a measured and comprehensive approach. The Clean Energy Partnership represents a huge opportunity for us to respond on a timeline that recognizes the immediacy of addressing the climate crisis and is centered on inclusive outreach to Maine’s workforce of today and tomorrow.”
ReVision will partner with a variety of local and national organizations to support these workforce development efforts, including:
“ReVision Energy’s work to define career pathways in a growing industry in a manner that minimizes barriers to employment and develops replicable models for other employees is representative of the type of workforce strategies that provide innovative solutions that are centered on equity and inclusion,” said Antoinette Mancusi, Executive Director of Coastal Counties Workforce, Inc. “We look forward to collaborating with ReVision Energy to strengthen access for job seekers and current workers and to strengthen the company’s efforts to provide targeted and client-centered outreach to ensure that these opportunities are informed by the populations they are designed to serve.”
“ReVision Energy has identified the need to both expedite the development of electricians through its electrical apprenticeship program and to internally develop electrical instructors to support their apprentice electricians,” said Christopher Winstead, Deputy Executive Director of Workforce Training at Maine Community College System. “MCCS is excited about the opportunity to collaborate with ReVision Energy to utilize the experience and expertise of their curriculum developers, subject matter experts, and operations team to strengthen the solar content within MCCS’s electrical programs.”
