WE ACT’s Green Institute: Taking Workforce Development to the Next Level
Good Jobs Are Essential for a Healthy Community
Today’s high poverty and unemployment rate in Northern Manhattan is caused by decades of poor and often racist public policy around jobs, housing, homeownership, education, policing, and more. And climate change is exacerbating the issue, widening existing social and economic inequalities in our community and others like it.
In the wake of 2012’s Superstorm Sandy, an extreme weather event that impacted New York City’s communities of color and low-income particularly hard, WE ACT relaunched and expanded its free Worker Training program thanks to input from the community and funding from the New York State Department of Labor. Open to everyone aged 18 years and older, the goal of the program is to provide a pathway for equitable employment in these communities as we work to combat climate change.
Focusing on the perennially healthy construction industry, the classes have evolved over the years to include the now mandatory Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) 30-hour Construction Industry Outreach, Solar Photovoltaic Installation, and Flagging & Scaffolding. WE ACT has trained more than 1,000 unemployed and underemployed members of the community to date, enabling them to earn certifications free-of-charge that had previously served as cost-prohibitive barriers to careers in the construction industry.
WE ACT’s Green Institute
In 2023, WE ACT rebranded its workforce development program, launching WE ACT’s Green Institute. The mission remains the same, training and connecting local residents to good paying jobs in the green economy. What’s changed is the depth and breadth of the program, expanding the services offered as well as the opportunities available.
Because the certifications we offer are just the entry requirements for these jobs, we are now offering one-on-one career services designed to help participants navigate the application and hiring process as well as ways to advance their career once they are employed.
To learn more about WE ACT’s Green Institute, contact Jazz Hooks at jazz.hooks@weact.org. And click here to register for upcoming training sessions.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR UPCOMING TRAINING SESSIONS
Many thanks to West Harlem Development Corporation
for generously supporting our Worker Training Program
We have also started a Worker Training Working Group to help those in the program better prepare for entering the job market. Contact Jazz Hooks at jazz.hooks@weact.org for more information.
Click here to see testimonials from local residents who have participated in our Worker Training and Job Readiness program.
Click here to see our non-discrimination policy.