American Climate Corps Provides Training for Clean Energy Careers

Federal government agencies have been working hard to draw young professionals to the public sector.

In January, for example, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued guidance on how federal agencies can increase opportunities for paid internships, fellowships, apprenticeships and other student and early career programs.

The following month, OPM, along with the Department of Labor (DOL) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB), unveiled a new portal on USAJOBS for prospective federal interns, conceived as a one-stop shop for would-be interns to find and apply for internships in the federal government.

In a statement announcing the new portal, OPM Director Kiran Ahuja described it as one of the latest tools the organization is deploying to expand opportunities for early career professionals, giving federal agencies more avenues to recruit young talent.

The Biden administration has identified attracting this type of talent to careers in public service as a priority. Per the President’s fiscal year 2023 budget, for example, federal agencies have committed to hiring more than 35,000 interns this year. And, in 2021, OPM issued regulations designed to make it easier for government agencies to hire college students and recent graduates.

A new White House program is designed to expand on these efforts, putting thousands of young people on a path to public service careers in the burgeoning fields of clean energy, conservation and climate resilience.

The administration’s American Climate Corps workforce training and service initiative “will ensure more young people have access to the skills-based training necessary for good-paying careers in the clean energy and climate resilience economy,” according to a statement announcing the just-launched program.

According to the White House, the training program will put more than 20,000 Americans to work “conserving and restoring American lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, deploying clean energy, implementing energy efficient technologies and advancing environmental justice,” the statement read,” all while creating pathways to high-quality, good-paying clean energy and climate resilience jobs in the public and private sectors after they complete their paid training program.”

Onboard for the Climate Change Battle

In the same statement, the administration notes the initiative’s goal of providing the next generation of Americans with job training and service opportunities to work on “a wide range of projects that tackle climate change,” including the restoration of coastal wetlands to protect communities from storm surges and flooding, deploying clean energy and managing forests to improve health and prevent wildfires.

And, according to the White House, the federal government will soon launch a dedicated American Climate Corps website, where participants can learn about and apply for opportunities in their community, while organizations can learn how to work with American Climate Corps members.

In addition, a group of federal agencies including the Department of Labor, Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture and AmeriCorps will sign a memorandum of understanding to formalize this new initiative, “to ensure federal agencies are working together to implement the American Climate Corp,” according to the White House. AmeriCorps will also stand up a new American Climate Corps hub, designed to support the initiative.

As the administration notes in the announcement, five states—California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan and Washington—have already launched climate corps programs. Another five—Arizona, Utah, Minnesota, North Carolina and Maryland—are now moving forward with state-based climate corps that are funded through public-private partnerships.

As the Associated Press’s Matthew Daly pointed out, President Biden used his executive authority to create the “New Deal-Style” training initiative, after proposing a version of the program as part of 2022’s climate bill. That previous iteration “was jettisoned amid strong opposition from Republicans and concerns about cost,” Daly recently wrote.

Others, however, are eager to see the program get off the ground, and to start using the initiative as a way to get young talent on board for the climate change battle.

“Young people nationwide are excited to see the launch of the American Climate Corps, enhancing career pathways in clean energy, conservation and climate resilience,’’ Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, president of NextGen America, told AP.

“Young people are fighting for climate justice every day in their community,” said Ramirez, whose organization promotes education, registration and mobilization for voters between the ages of 18 and 35. “And now they have even more opportunity to continue this fight in their careers.”