The UC-Berkeley Donald Vial Center on Employment in the Green Economy submitted comments on the California Energy Commission's Comprehensive Energy Efficiency Program for Existing Buildings (AB 758) Scoping Report. The comments focused on the market needs, opportunities, and areas of action related to workforce education and training. The Center recommended promoting the use of stackable credentials, supporting ongoing alignment of workforce planning efforts, defining quality standards for energy efficiency work, promoting the value of worker skill certifications in the market, and addressing skill gaps of incumbent workers. The Center also made two overarching recommendations: that all planning and investing in the workforce development arena should be carried out in coordination with the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency, and that an inter-agency advisory committee should be established to include the California Workforce Investment Board, the Division of Apprenticeship Standards, the Department of Industrial Relations, the Employment Training Panel, and the system-wide offices of community colleges, California State University, and the University of California.
