Building Up: How Infrastructure Funding Translates to Jobs and Opportunity
Despite Trump Administration efforts, the flood of private- and public-sector clean-energy investment will continue.
These funds are flowing into states and localities that often don’t have experience planning for, overseeing, and implementing big projects – let alone training and reskilling people at scale.
Let’s be real: Most funding from the “three uncles” – the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and CHIPS and Science Act – aren’t going anywhere. The states that have received the greatest per-capita investments in clean energy include Nevada, Wyoming, South Dakota, Georgia, and South Carolina. The South has received more clean-energy investment than any other region of the country. Arizona and Ohio are hotbeds in the expanding U.S. semiconductor industry – which is also contributing to the fastest rate of factory construction since the 1950s.
Structures for Success
From what states are already doing, we know the combination of elements that it takes for states to transform investments from the “three uncles” into broadly shared prosperity for their residents.
Comprehensive Workforce Planning: In Illinois, state statute directs and guides localities in how to develop workforce plans, emphasizing collaboration between key stakeholders to assess workforce capacity and identify skills mismatches.
Private-Sector Partnerships and Streamlined Permitting: Virginia’s Office of Public Private Partnership drives collaboration between companies and state agencies, including on clean-energy projects, while the Virginia Permit Transparency (VPT) dashboard tracks all applications to six agencies.
Inclusion and Equity: With up to 3 million jobs per year created by infrastructure investments, states and industry must involve more people in these sectors. The Massachusetts Clean Energy Center has launched Equity Workforce Planning and Capacity Grants to ensure that Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs), community-based organizations, and others have the capacity to scale up programming in clean-energy sectors.
New and Innovative Training Programs: To meet the new of its burgeoning semiconductor industry, Arizona has used state funds to jumpstart a new 10-day accelerated training program and dedicated hubs that prepare students for the range of jobs in the semiconductor- and semiconductor-related industries.
Multiple Funding Sources: Michigan manufacturers have benefited from federal and state grants to build out the state’s electric-vehicle and battery industries. These commitments are further bolstered by a policy environment that increases demand for EVs, such as by electrifying the state’s school buses and state-owned vehicles.