As the Trump administration seeks to roll back or end federal investment in clean energy technologies, community college leaders may be wondering what impact these changes will have on the future of sustainability initiatives and green jobs training programs.
A 2022 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected strong job growth in occupations related to renewable energy sources and conserving natural resources over the next several years. For instance, the number of technician jobs for servicing wind turbines was expected to increase by 68%, from 2020 to 2030, resulting in 4,700 new positions in this field. The number of solar photovoltaic installers was predicted to rise by 52% during this period, yielding 6,100 additional jobs.
However, those projections were made before Donald Trump took office again this year.
This article comes from the new issue of the Community College Journal, the bimonthly magazine of the American Association of Community Colleges.
With the help of measures such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Biden administration claimed to have overseen the creation of more than 400,000 clean energy jobs in four years — and in 2023, this sector reportedly grew at twice the rate of the overall economy.
In contrast, Trump has used executive orders to cancel billions of dollars in grants for green energy projects already appropriated by Congress, and the budget reconciliation bill passed by Congress in July (known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill”) eliminates green energy tax credits and other incentives. These moves severely curtail federal investment in environmentally friendly technologies.
Despite these changes, executives at colleges with green jobs training programs believe there will still be a strong demand for these initiatives.
Renewable energy sources and energy reduction programs save consumers money, they argue, and state and local incentives to invest in these technologies still remain in many communities. What’s more, the line between traditional and green jobs training is disappearing as even traditional energy systems become more highly efficient.
Cost savings remain
Buildings account for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions, according to the World Green Building Council, and building automation systems (BAS) are designed to reduce this amount by enabling HVAC and electrical systems to run more efficiently.
But these systems don’t just save on greenhouse gas emissions. They can also save users a significant amount of money on their utility bills. Johnson Controls estimates that smart building controls can save up to 15% of the energy consumption in commercial facilities.
“Whether there are federal incentives or not, people still need to keep costs down,” says Salvador Pina, vice president for workforce and economic development at Roxbury Community College in Massachusetts. “That’s why interest in green technologies is always going to exist.”
The college’s Center for Smart Building Technology is training the next generation of technicians to build, install, manage and repair BAS components.
BAS technicians need a solid understanding of both HVAC and electrical systems, as well as computer programming skills. They typically start at $75,000 per year, Pina says, with the chance to earn up to $150,000 within five years.
According to the Association of Controls Professionals (ACP), there were 21,800 job openings in the BAS field as of mid-May. Roxbury has partnered with APC to create a three-semester, 450-hour BAS certificate program that it’s piloting now, and the first seven students are scheduled to graduate from the program in August.
“Already, companies are lining up to hire them,” Pina says.
The program combines theoretical knowledge with practical, hands-on skills. Students work on smart building systems in a lab constructed with the help of APC. Corporate partners include Johnson Controls, Siemens, Automated Logic, National Grid and Eversource.
Roxbury is seeking approval to create an associate degree program out of its BAS certification program by adding general education requirements as well. If approved, it would be the first such degree program in the Northeast, Pina says.
Building automation is only one of the areas of focus for the Center for Smart Building Technology. It also trains students how to read blueprints and become energy auditors, and students can earn industry-recognized certifications in Building Science Principles from the Building Performance Institute (BPI) and in Fundamentals of Energy-Efficient Building Operations. A new program launching this fall will teach students how to operate drones that can analyze where a building is experiencing heat loss.
All of these programs will help students find jobs that support Boston’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The city’s Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance requires owners of large buildings to audit and report on their structures’ annual energy and water consumption, as well as comply with emissions standards that decrease over time — with all large buildings in the city expected to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
“We’ve carved out a niche to become experts in smart and energy-efficient buildings,” Pina notes.
Local incentives still in play
Although federal tax credits and other incentives may disappear, many states and municipalities will continue to offer their own combination of carrots and sticks to encourage the use of green technologies and practices, as Boston’s example demonstrates.
Another example is Illinois. Under the leadership of Gov. JB Pritzker, the state legislature in 2022 passed the Reimagining Energy and Vehicles in Illinois Act (REV Illinois) to strengthen manufacturing in the clean jobs sector.
The program offers incentives for companies that make electric vehicles or aircraft, associated batteries or charging stations, and other renewable energy systems to relocate or expand their facilities in Illinois. REV Illinois is a key component in the state’s efforts to put a million new EVs on the road by 2030 and achieve 100% clean energy by 2050.
In 2017, American EV manufacturer Rivian purchased a manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois, that used to belong to Mitsubishi Motors. With funding and incentives from REV Illinois, Rivian expanded the facility, and just this year it announced plans to build a $120-million supplier park that will create nearly 100 additional jobs.
Heartland Community College, whose main campus is within a few miles of the Rivian facility, will help fill those jobs with its EV technology programs. These programs include an associate of applied science degree in electric vehicle technology, as well as certifications in EV maintenance and light repair, EV energy storage and service advisor. More than 50 students enroll in these programs each year, says President Keith Cornille.
Prior to Rivian’s arrival, Heartland had established a certification program in renewable energy and was considering EV technology as a next step.
“Rivian coming into the community accelerated that process,” Cornille says. “They helped us understand the employment needs around EV technology.”
A former mechanic himself, Cornille can appreciate how the rise of hybrid and electric vehicles is changing the nature of the skills mechanics need in the field.
“Car dealerships with hybrid vehicles need technicians who are trained to work on those vehicles in particular,” he says. “We also train people to install EV charging stations, and we’re seeing a growth in the number of these stations throughout our community.”
Students at Heartland and the state’s 38 other community colleges benefit from the Illinois Green Economy Network (IGEN), a partnership among Illinois’ two-year institutions to drive the growth of a clean energy economy. Through this collaboration, participating colleges develop and share green jobs curriculum and training materials for faculty and students.
With the threat of higher tariffs on foreign goods and services looming, many community college leaders are wondering what impact this will have on the cost of materials for their workforce development programs. With initiatives like REV Illinois, “our state is investing in having more supplies manufactured locally,” Cornille says, “thus avoiding the impact of tariffs.”
Heartland is looking at how to integrate its EV, HVAC and renewable energy training programs, so that students and faculty can share and transfer knowledge between them.
An understanding of batteries, electricity and how energy is stored applies across each of these areas of study, Cornille explains, noting: “We want to tie these programs together, because there is synergy there. We don’t just look at these as separate programs — we look at them as interrelated.”
