{"id":7408,"date":"2025-09-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gridalt.wpenginepowered.com\/the-current\/grid-alternatives-statement-workforce-development-clean-energy-and-national\/"},"modified":"2026-09-16T19:15:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T23:15:31","slug":"grid-alternatives-statement-workforce-development-clean-energy-and-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/live-grid-wp.pantheonsite.io\/es\/the-current\/grid-alternatives-statement-workforce-development-clean-energy-and-national\/","title":{"rendered":"GRID Alternatives Statement on Workforce Development, Clean Energy, and National Competitiveness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Media contact:<\/strong> Wanda Heard, Sr. Public Relations & Marketing Manager: wheard@gridalternatives.org<\/a><\/p>\n

At GRID Alternatives, we believe a clean energy future must be built on real skills, real jobs, and real opportunity. Our AmeriCorps members and Installation Basics Training (IBT) graduates gain hands-on experience installing solar panels, wiring energy storage, and building EV charging infrastructure. These programs create well-paying careers, strengthen local economies, and expand access to clean energy in communities that need it most, including rural areas and historically underserved populations. That\u2019s why it is deeply concerning to see Congress considering cuts to programs like AmeriCorps, which would block thousands of Americans from serving their communities, gaining skills, and accessing career pathways in clean energy. <\/p>\n

This is not just a matter of fairness, it is a matter of economic strategy and national competitiveness. The United States already underinvests in workforce development, spending just one-fifth of the average that other advanced economies spend on workforce and labor market programs. By slashing funding for workforce development and deployment programs, we risk ceding industrial leadership to other countries that are actively investing in training, manufacturing, and scaling these technologies. <\/p>\n

The stakes are real for families, too. Under-resourced households already spend as much as 14% of their income on electricity, and that burden grows as demand increases from data centers, AI, electrification, and rising tariffs. Energy demand is projected to rise significantly in the near term future, making the need for skilled workers and installed infrastructure more urgent than ever.<\/p>\n

GRID Alternatives is already proving what\u2019s possible. Our programs:<\/p>\n