Renewable Revolution

Preparing the Next Generation for Skilled Jobs in the Clean Energy Sector

Maria Blais Costello 
December 04, 2014  |  1 Comments 

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program, created and managed by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), is providing valuable support to Massachusetts’ growing clean energy economy. By connecting Massachusetts students and recent graduates with paid internships at clean energy companies across the state, MassCEC is helping to ensure that there is a steady stream of prepared, talented, and experienced young professionals ready to meet the growing market demand.

Training the Clean Energy Economy Leaders of Tomorrow

The clean energy industry in Massachusetts is experiencing significant growth. MassCEC’s 2014 Clean Energy Industry Report notes that MA clean energy jobs grew by 10.5 percent from 2013. Massachusetts has over 88,000 clean energy workers and nearly 6,000 clean energy firms. This growing market sector presents both an opportunity and a challenge. In order for industry growth to continue, businesses need to be able to hire new employees, which requires both the capital to afford those workers, and an experienced labor pool to draw from.

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center saw the need to connect prospective employers and new clean energy start-ups with promising entrants into the workforce. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program has matched two key resources: a growing population of environmentally conscious college students and a growing clean energy sector in search of skilled workers.

Since its creation four years ago, the program has placed 952 interns at 228 companies. More than 50 interns have gained permanent positions at their host companies, while many others have found positions elsewhere in the state clean energy industry.

How the Program Works

Through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program, MassCEC provides paid internships for college students interested in working for a clean energy company in Massachusetts. Applicants submit their resume, unofficial transcript, and proof of Massachusetts residency into an online database, developed by MassCEC. The database serves to match students with prospective employers. To be eligible, participating students must either be enrolled at a higher education institution in Massachusetts, a permanent Massachusetts resident attending an out of state institution, or recently graduated within the previous year. Students and recent graduates gain valuable workforce experience through their internships and build connections in the Massachusetts clean energy industry.

Employer participation in contingent upon submitting to MassCEC an application detailing the company’s clean energy focus and then determining if they qualify as a “clean energy” company as defined by MassCEC’s founding legislation. Additionally, employers must also have a Massachusetts-based office and be registered to do business in the state. Employers deemed eligible to participate in the program by MassCEC staff are able to search the online database and select candidate(s) to interview for an internship. Once the eligible candidate is found, MassCEC then issues an award letter to the employer before allowing the student to begin their work.

Businesses that participate in the internship program are reimbursed up to $12 an hour for the intern’s labor; the $12 amount can be counted towards wages and taxes. Employers are allowed to pay their interns a higher was than the maximum reimbursable hourly rate, with the employer paying the difference.  This is a significant benefit for companies, especially for startups that would not otherwise be able to afford new interns or employees. Upon completion of the internship session, employers are required to respond to an online survey before any reimbursements are made; similarly, a survey is also sent out to participating students to gather their input on the program. The information from both parties has allowed MassCEC to correct any potential oversights and to streamline the application process.

The impacts of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program are long-term. By helping clean energy companies grow and by training workers entering the field, MassCEC is helping to prepare the next generation of clean energy leaders and ensuring future market growth.

Leveraging Available Resources for Maximum Impact

The success of the program is due to a smart and simple concept: linking one of Massachusetts’ largest and strongest populations, the higher education sector, with one of its fastest growing industries, the clean energy sector. MassCEC actively promotes this program to colleges across the state, providing career centers with the information they need to successfully leverage the program. After MassCEC’s initial work to launch the initiative, the program has developed considerable momentum, because people in the two sectors have a strong interest in promoting it widely. MassCEC now only has to put continued funding and provide modest administrative work to keep the program going strong.

Additional benefits of the Internship Program have included increased exposure for Massachusetts-based clean energy companies, in both urban and less populated areas of the state, as well as alleviating stubbornly high unemployment among college students, especially during the summer months. Due to heavy interest from both applicants and employers, the program has expanded from a summer-only internship to a year-round program, offering part-time positions in the fall and spring, and full-time positions in the summer.

A Model for other States

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program could be replicated in other states at any scale: state-wide or regional, technology-specific or all-inclusive. Primary components needed for replication are funding for reimbursements, a population of interested college students, and interested clean energy companies. Since an agency or organization hosting the program is simply serving to facilitate the selection process, very little logistical work is required to administer a similar program once sufficient protocols have been established. As the application process continues to evolve and take on a more digital component, it will also require far less administration on the part of the host entity in the future.

Learn More about this Program

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program was one of eight recipients of the 2014 State Leadership in Clean Energy Awards, an initiative of the Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA) to highlight exemplary state and municipal programs that advance clean energy markets. (See my previous blog from November 24, 2014.) CESA will be hosting a webinar featuring this program on December 8th. The webinar is free to attend, but registration is required. You can learn more and register here.

For more information about the Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program visit www.masscec.com/intern or contact Tamika Jacques, Director of Workforce Development, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center at TJacques@MassCEC.com.

To learn more about CESA, please visit www.cesa.org. The next blog will highlight the New Mexico Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit program, which will also be featured on the December 8th webinar.

The information and views expressed in this blog post are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of RenewableEnergyWorld.com or the companies that advertise on this Web site and other publications. This blog was posted directly by the author and was not reviewed for accuracy, spelling or grammar.

1 Comments

A. G. Gelbert   
 December 4, 2014 

The Massachusetts Clean Energy Internship Program is a prudent, intelligent and much needed application of common sense.