A new round of workforce training funding will help to create more San Diego tech jobs (Click here) in the biofuels industry.
The California Department of Industrial Relations recently awarded a $4 million grant to the San Diego Biofuels Initiative. The funding will be used to implement the Educating and Developing Workers for the Green Economy, or EDGE, Initiative, which will provide new workforce training programs for careers in the biofuels industry.
The San Diego Biofuels Initiative – a collaborative effort among CleanTECH San Diego, BIOCOM, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, and the San Diego Workforce Partnership – won the grant as part of the Green Innovation Challenge.
The EDGE Initiative is aimed at providing education, training, and placement services to unemployed and dislocated workers in the San Diego area. The program is one of five selected to receive a portion of the $20 million in grants from the state’s Contingency Fund and the Federal Workforce Investment Act.
“This award shows San Diego at its best,” Lisa Bicker, CEO of CleanTECH San Diego, said. “It exemplifies a successful collaboration between industry, academia and government that will result in putting San Diegans to work while solving the critical challenge of energy independence and security.”
A recent study from the San Diego County of Governments’ economic bureau found that the local algal biofuels research and development industry provides 410 direct jobs, $56 million in direct economic activity, and $108 million in total economic activity each year.
The San Diego Biofuels Initiative plans to create an Industry Advisory Board to help guide the EDGE Initiative as it develops. The industry’s partners are committed to facilitating and providing internships, on-the-job training, and employment.
The funds also will help to create and maintain several training programs leading to post-secondary, undergraduate, graduate, and advanced-level degrees, including:
- The EDGE Initiative Programs Biofuels Production Certificate
- Biomass Production Certificate
- Biofuels Lab Tech Certificate
- Biofuels Crop Management Certificate
- Advance training in Biofuels Crop Research
- Biofuels Immersion Program
- BioCollaborative Biofuels Web Portal
Tags: San Diego tech jobs