Gov. Janet Mills gives State of the State address at the Maine State House in Augusta on Jan. 30, 2024. (Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star)
Gov. Janet Mills is teaming up with other heads of state across the country to carve out career pathways in the climate and clean energy fields.
Mills is part of a bipartisan coalition of 24 governors that make up the U.S. Climate Alliance. Late last month, the group launched the Governors’ Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative with the goal to train one million new apprentices by 2035 across the two dozen states and territories, according to a news release from the coalition.
The apprenticeship programs under the initiative will be registered with the U.S. Department of Labor or federally approved State Apprenticeship Agencies and allow new workers to begin earning money while learning about the occupations and industries.
The alliance is creating cohorts with different states focusing on various “climate-ready” industries and careers. For example, Maine will work with Massachusetts to develop careers in clean building and industrial processes that are energy-efficient, healthy and resilient. Clean building careers include engineering, design, construction, retrofitting and maintenance of buildings.
The initiative seeks to create a “diverse, equitable and inclusive climate-ready workforce” with pathways to good-paying jobs for new and current workers, according to a LinkedIn post from the Maine Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.
“Governors across America are at the forefront of our efforts to spur growth in union jobs, expand American energy production, and invest in the economic success of our communities,” said White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi, in the release.
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