Oakland Green Jobs Corps

Oakland Green Jobs Corps - Oakland, CA

The Oakland Green Jobs Corps is a complete job training pathway into green careers for Oakland residents with barriers to employment. Beginning in 2008, it will provide young adults with job training, support, and hands-on work experience so that they can independently pursue opportunities in the new energy economy. The Oakland Green Jobs Corps is a central achievement of the Oakland Apollo Alliance, co-convened by the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 595. The Oakland City Council recently voted to fund the Corps in the amount of $250,000, which provides a vital pool of seed funding for attracting matching funds over the long-term. The Corps will be a collaboration between workforce training institutions, community-based organizations, unions, the City of Oakland, educational institutions, and private companies. It will fight both poverty and pollution at the same time by preparing those who have been left out of previous economic booms for promising careers in the emerging green economy.