The MAAC Vocational Training center in Barrio Logan has had to turn people away from its Green Careers program because it’s so popular.
A new report from Environment California found up to 15,000 enroll in similar programs across the state each year. But Nicole Capretz with the Environmental Health Coalition said the green industry is facing what she calls a frozen tidal wave.
"We’ve done all the preparation. "We have the workforce trained. We have the communities excited," she said. "We have the policies in place to promote green energy jobs, but we don’t have the jobs."
Capretz said the newness of the industry, combined with the recession, have contributed to the lack of jobs. Still, about half a million Californian’s work in green jobs.
The industry is projected to expand significantly in the next decade.
