(NECN: Jack Thurston, Colchester, VT) - Will going green help the country bounce back from its economic doldrums? It's a tough question to answer, because the "green jobs" sector has many definitions, and few hard numbers quantifying its size. But New England labor leaders are working on it, and are optimistic for future growth.
At a job fair this week in Colchester, Vermont, college junior Melissa Parker was looking to make connections to help her land work with a company or non-profit that makes the planet a priority. "That's what's important," Parker said. "If we're not caring about our environment, then nobody is."
She's not alone. New England labor officials say more and more 20-somethings are pursuing jobs in the so-called "green economy." A packed house came to the University of Vermont Thursday to hear from the chair of the U.S. Senate's Green Jobs and New Economy Subcommittee.
"We're making some progress," said Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont. "Not as much as we should, but we're making some progress in moving our country forward in terms of sustainable energy and creating good-paying green jobs in the process."
Dave Blittersdorf is the CEO of AllEarth Renewables. The Williston, Vermont startup designs and manufactures solar panel systems for homes, businesses, and municipal customers. Blittersdorf says he's created 26 jobs, and believes there are trickle-down benefits to other workers, like installation contractors. "We expect to double that 26 to 50-plus in the next two to three years," Blittersdorf said.
But how many stories like his are there? The green sector's growth depends largely on public policy.
Topics like site permitting and energy portfolio regulations can get contentious on local, state, and national levels. "I'm optimistic about it," said Mathew Barewicz, Vermont's economic and labor market information chief.
Barewicz is now working with counterparts from the other New England states to quantify the number of green jobs in the Northeast. What makes defining green jobs so tricky is there is so much overlap between sectors. For example, is using modern home insulation techniques a green job, or a position in home construction, as it has historically been categorized?
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The New England research is also analyzing expectations from employers, to see what training workers need to fill new and modified jobs.
Barewicz calls the emerging area of green job development encouraging, predicting it will pay off over time by increasing efficiency across the economy. But he cautions, it's not a cure-all in the short term: "It's not going to be the silver bullet or anything that some people had potentially hoped," he said.
The college graduates entering the workforce in just a couple weeks may not necessarily find these jobs right now. "Some of them will," Blittersdorf said. "But it's growing. I've been in the renewable business for 30 years, and it's finally taking off. There's a tipping point that happens, and I think we're at a tipping point, where we're moving to renewables. And it's taken that long."
Melissa Parker hopes he's right.
"I think it's a better quality of life because you know what you're doing is important," she said.
Parker is looking forward to eventually earning some green off her future green job.
