California Climate Investments Resource Portal
Implementing Programs to Support Workforce Development
As California’s economy continues to transition to support clean energy and transportation, improved mobility, and sustainable land use and management, workforce needs will evolve. The types of available jobs and skills needed to obtain and progress in those careers will also change. California Climate Investments is helping to facilitate this transition through dedicated workforce development and training, establishing partnerships with training programs and academic institutions, and investing in projects that provide employment opportunities while facilitating greenhouse gas emissions reductions. For example, some programs are focused specifically on developing the workforce for a low carbon future, funding job training and workforce development in building energy efficiency and forestry sectors.
Workforce Development Updates
In response to the passage of Assembly Bill 680 in 2021, CARB is updating the Funding Guidelines for Agencies that Administer California Climate Investments to incorporate workforce standards that support the creation of high-quality jobs in applicable California Climate Investments programs. Learn more about the update and participation opportunities.
California Climate Investments and Workforce Development
Workforce development is a key component of the strategy to meet California’s carbon neutrality goals. The shift towards clean energy, clean transportation, improved mobility, affordable housing, and sustainable land use presents an opportunity to implement employment practices that support high-quality jobs while facilitating GHG emissions reductions. California Climate Investments job quality principles emphasize increasing the value of worker input and promoting wages at or above the median, which ensures workers thrive both in the workplace and at home. California Climate Investments supports job quality by investing in projects that prioritize best-in-class employers, establishing partnerships with training programs and academic institutions, and providing employment opportunities that uplift priority populations.
California Climate Investments encourages strategies that uplift job quality for all jobs funded through its investments, and supports workforce development in several ways:
Programs provide funding for workforce training projects;
Projects directly employ people for project development, implementation, and maintenance;
Programs support indirect jobs in California industries that supply the goods and services needed to implement projects; and
Programs indirectly add jobs throughout the California economy by generating additional household demand for goods and services.
Investments in Action: Projects Supporting Workforce Development
Programs that Fund Workforce Development and Training
Learn about all past and present programs that fund workforce development and training, including programs that are not actively receiving California Climate Investments funding.
California Climate Investments Job Quality Principles
Workforce development efforts should achieve social, economic, and environmental co-benefits by improving job quality and access to high-quality jobs for priority populations, women, those facing barriers to employment, and others that have been underserved or underrepresented. Administering agencies can require or recommend the job quality elements below for projects to support high-quality jobs, economic security, and career mobility. A high-quality job facilitates an individual’s economic mobility by providing, at minimum, compensation at or above the regional median wage and offers vacation and sick leave, training opportunities, and retirement benefits featuring an employer contribution. Access to high-quality jobs and training opportunities fosters economic security.
Explore Job Quality Principles:
Wage and Benefit Standards
Training Pathways and Upward Mobility
Local and Targeted Hiring Mechanisms
Wage and Benefit Standards
Wage and benefits standards elevate job quality by creating minimum criteria for an employer’s compensatory package.
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Training Pathways and Upward Mobility
Training and apprenticeship programs that result in an industry-recognized credential create pathways to enter into high‑quality jobs and facilitate career mobility.
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Local and Targeted Hiring Mechanisms
Local hiring ensures community members benefit economically from projects in their region. Targeted hiring focuses on improving access to high-quality jobs for workers from priority populations, women, those facing barriers to employment, and others who have been underserved or underrepresented in the relevant sector.
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Supportive Organizational Culture
A supportive organizational culture is one where all employees belong and are equally valued, respected, and meaningfully engaged. Practices include creating a workplace culture that is free of harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. Fostering a supportive organizational culture promotes an inclusive workplace that prioritizes psychological safety at work.
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Worker Voice and Representation
An inclusive workplace values worker voice, wherein workers of all skill levels and backgrounds are engaged to inform workplace decisions and culture. Employers should create an environment where workers feel empowered to give feedback, remain neutral and not impede employees’ right to organize or join a union, and take meaningful actions informed by individual and collective feedback.
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Workplace Safety
Workplace safety encompasses compliance with applicable worksite or workplace safety requirements such as provision of proper personal protective equipment, meal and rest periods, and predictable scheduling. Workplace safety can additionally be expanded to include psychological safety, worker voice, and an environment free from harassment or retaliation.
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California Climate Investments Jobs Reporting Resources
California Climate Investments programs report on jobs-related metrics in two ways:
All programs report the modeled number of jobs, which are estimates of the direct, indirect, and induced jobs a project may support.
Programs report on employment outcomes for a subset of projects. Employment outcomes reflect the actual jobs supported by California Climate Investments dollars.
Modeled Jobs
The number of jobs is modeled using a CARB-created methodology and calculator tool. This methodology uses information about general project expenses and known relationships between various economic sectors to estimate the number of direct, indirect, and induced jobs supported by California Climate Investments projects.
Directly Supported Jobs: Labor needed to complete work for a California Climate Investments project (e.g., housing construction, ecosystem restoration).
Indirectly Supported Jobs: Labor related to the supply chains that support projects. Funding a project generates demand for materials and equipment to complete the project, leading to expanded production and employment in upstream industries (e.g., manufacturing construction equipment, zero‑emission vehicle parts, solar panel components).
Induced Jobs: Labor related to the spending of income from directly and indirectly supported jobs which in turn stimulates demand for goods and services in the wider California economy.
Employment Outcomes
Administering agencies report employment outcomes for jobs paid through the project. Employment outcomes include the number of full-time equivalent jobs, as well as other metrics like wages, retirement benefits, and the percentage of jobs funded for priority populations.
Read the Annual Report to the Legislature on California Climate Investments Using Cap‑and‑Trade Auction Proceeds to view the latest reporting on modeled jobs and employment outcomes.
Reporting Tools
The following reporting tools can help you understand how to quantify and report on jobs for California Climate Investments projects:
