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National Council For Workforce Education Selects UA - Pulaski Tech For National Green Jobs Advisory Council

The University of Arkansas - Pulaski Technical College (UA-PTC) has been selected to participate in the National Green Jobs Advisory Council initiative (NGJAC). This grant program, managed by the National Council for Workforce Education (NCWE), and funded by Lumina Foundation, will commence on June 15, 2022, and conclude on December 31, 2023.

NCWE received funding from the Lumina Foundation to engage 15 community colleges with an employer partner in a National Green Jobs Advisory Council. With an eye on equity and building an inclusive workforce, the NGJAC will work with NCWE to identify the knowledge and skills necessary for successful employment in green jobs in four industry sectors: transportation, construction, energy, and building performance/HVAC.

“UA-PTC is in a position serve as the entry point for workers in the industry as we engage as a national partner in developing this critical curriculum to benefit the advancement of innovative advanced energy technologies,” said UA-PTC Chancellor Margaret Ellibee. “We are motivated to engage with local employers be on the leading edge of developing programs that meet existing and emerging needs.”

In addition to participating in the NGJAC, each college will also select a faculty member from one of the sectors to be part of a Curriculum Module Development Team. The CMDT will come together at the NCWE annual conference to begin developing green modules that can be embedded in current training programs or utilized to build training programs for emerging green jobs. After the conference, the faculty along with subject matter experts in industry, will design and test the curriculum modules. These modules will become public domain and available on the SEED Center website to encourage more colleges to embed green skills into programs.

UA - Pulaski Tech will partner with North Little Rock-based solar energy company Seal Solar in this project.

“Seal Solar is thrilled to work with UA-PTC to begin designing and testing the green modules as part of the National Green Jobs Advisory Council Initiative,” said Heather Nelson, president of Seal Solar. “We are seeing huge growth in advanced energy technologies here in Arkansas, and as such, we have a responsibility to prepare Arkansans for the high paying, innovative, and career building jobs these energy technologies demand.”