Governors’ Climate Ready Workforce Initiative

In September, 2024, the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 24 governors representing approximately 60 percent of the U.S. economy and 55 percent of the U.S. population, launched the Governors’ Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative to grow career pathways in climate and clean energy fields, strengthen workforce diversity, and jointly train 1 million new registered apprentices by 2035 across the Alliance’s states and territories. As the Inflation Reduction Act, combined with the bipartisan infrastructure law and CHIPS and Science Act, are beginning to drive increased private sector investments in electric vehicles, batteries, solar, wind and other clean technologies, the clean energy industry doesn’t have enough workers to match that level of growth. The initiative aims to build a robust labor supply, possibly by using state and federal funds to train workers for these jobs through apprenticeship programs. The Initiative’s goals include boosting job quality, expanding opportunities for workers from underrepresented and underserved communities, and strengthening workers’ economic mobility.