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Study after study show as many as 1 out of 4 workers in the US will be working in the renewable energy or energy efficiency industries by 2030.

Is Renewable Energy Development an Opportunity to Create New Investment and Jobs throughout the North State?


Renewable Energy Forum – December 4, 2008


Industry Initiative Goal: Position the North State as a prime location for renewable energy industry locations, expansions and job creation for energy production, manufacturing and installations.


Renewable Energy Forum Objectives:

  1. Better understand the dynamics of the Renewable Energy sector and how they fit the North State:
    • Solar Energy
    • Wind Power
    • Biomass/BioEnergy
    • Hydrogen/Fuel Cells
    • Geothermal Energy
    • Ocean Energy
    • Hydropower
  2. Bring together key organizations, particularly workforce development, economic development, education, government and industry to strategize best methods to grow the renewable energy industry in the north state.
  3. Create forums and working groups to develop strategic initiatives for the renewable energy industries that fit different regions of the North State.
  4. Facilitate strategic planning by bringing resources and best practices to working groups.
  5. Collaborate to bring resources to the WIRED region for entrepreneurship, job training and education.

Sponsors/NoRTEClogo.jpgAbout Northern Rural Training & Employment Consortium (NoRTEC)


California Workforce Investment Boards are private sector-led boards focused on strategic solutions to workforce issues in their regions.


The Northern Rural Training & Employment Consortium (NoRTEC) covers eleven rural counties in Northern California: Butte, Del Norte, Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama, and Trinity. This eleven-county area covers about 39,388 square miles, or a little over 25% of California’s geographic area (155,959 square miles). NoRTEC is a Joint Powers Authority, operating under the guidance of two Boards.


The Workforce Investment Board represents the private and public service sectors, with a majority of the membership coming from the private sector. The Governing Board is comprised of one member from each of the eleven county Board’s of Supervisors.


NoRTEC is critical to the North State in delivering the Workforce Investment Act programs that are provided to the state through the Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration and the State of California Labor Agency in coordination with the Employment Development Department and the State Workforce Investment Board. Six organizations, referred to as One Stops, implement and manage the workforce programs in the NoRTEC region:


Alliance for Workforce Development – Counties of Lassen, Plumas, Modoc & Sierra

Siskiyou Workforce Connection – County of Siskiyou

Rural Human Resources – County of Del Norte

Smart Business Resource Center – Counties of Shasta & Trinity

Job Training Center of Tehama – County of Tehama

Butte Private Industry Council – Counties of Butte & Nevada

http://nortec.org/cb/nortec.html



Sponsors/NCCCLOGO.jpgAbout North Central Counties Consortium (NCCC)

Similar to NoRTEC, the North Central Counties Consortium is dedicated to supporting economic vitality and workforce development services through a Joint Powers Agreement for Counties of Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Sutter and Yuba. http://www.northcentralcounties.org/



Sponsors/wiredlogosm.gifAbout Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant from DOL


The WIRED Initiative, launched by the US Department of Labor in November 2005, stresses the critical role talent development plays in creating effective regional economic development strategies. http://www.doleta.gov/wired/about/


WIRED goes beyond traditional strategies for worker preparation by bringing together state, local and federal entities; academic institutions (including K-12, community colleges and universities); investment groups; foundations; and business and industry to address the challenges associated with building a globally competitive and prepared workforce.


All 39 WIRED Regions in the US are supported by managers from ETA and the WIRED resource team, as well as access to various staff from other federal agencies. This expanded team provides the regions with tools and technical assistance that assists them with implementing their plan for regional economic growth.


In January 2007, The Northern California Regional Competitiveness Network was selected as a “2nd Generation Region” which includes three workforce investment areas (NoRTEC, NCCC and Humboldt) covering seventeen counties in Northern California. The Northern California Regional Competitiveness Network received an investment of $500,000 to develop a comprehensive plan for the region. Upon completion and acceptance of this plan, the region will receive an additional $4.5 million investment over a three year period for implementation.


The Northern California WIRED region has identified six industry clusters for support:

  1. Information Technology,
  2. Agribusiness/Agritech,
  3. Advanced Manufacturing,
  4. Healthcare,
  5. Renewable Energy and
  6. Small Business/Entrepreneurs. 

These six “clusters” appear the most promising for business growth and development, leading to the ultimate goal of enhanced employment opportunities.

The WIRED Network is currently working on a three-pronged approach:

  • Public/Private Partnerships,
  • Infrastructure Strengthening, and
  • Talent Development.

The Network is working to provide direct support to entrepreneurs and small businesses by developing and delivering a Business Services program, more general support, encouragement, and development of entrepreneurs. This is being accomplished through Regional Support Programs, and the financing of innovative “fast growth” entrepreneurs through the development of an Angel Investment Network.


Infrastructure is addressed through the area’s strengths and weaknesses in transportation, communication, etc., as well as the “soft” infrastructure needs/projects (includes industry analysis, market development and advisory services).


The Talent Development component is designed to meet the needs of Entrepreneurs, the Workforce, and the Professional Service Delivery staff by providing on-time, on-demand training, education, and information. The next initiative is the Renewable Energy Collaboration.

http://nortec.org/cb/wired_events.html