By Ramona Schindelheim for WorkingNation.
Broadcast version by Roz Brown for Texas News Service reporting for the WorkingNation-Public News Service Collaboration.

As home to more than 4,700 companies engaged in energy production, transmission, exploration, supply, and technology, Houston has long claimed the title of "The Energy Capital of the World."

Oil and gas have been at the economic heart of the city and surrounding region since the massive Spindletop oil find in 1901 ushered in rapid expansion of the industry and led to Texas' dominance in the energy field in the 1940s.

But, with the ever-growing focus on renewable energy, the Houston region wants to be known by another moniker: "The Energy Transition Capital of the World."

"This is the industry that is going to have to lead the transition to a low-carbon world," says Peter Beard, SVP regional workforce development at the Greater Houston Partnership. In 2020, the Partnership made that mission a priority, forming the Houston Energy Transition Initiative (HETI).

There's a lot at stake. In a 2021 report, HETI estimated that the region could lose as many as 650,000 jobs "if no action is taken to respond to the changing energy landscape."

Action means opportunity.

The green economy is a job creator

You may be surprised to learn that Texas - home to four of the country's 10 largest cities - already leads the country in renewable electricity production, with about 26.5% of the electricity generation in the state coming from renewable sources, according the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

With the committment to embracing renewables such as solar and wind, and circular energy production and technology, there are potentially tens of thousands of green job and career opportunities - many of them requiring very little upskilling - in the region and in the entire state.

In our newly released Green Jobs Now: Texas report - a WorkingNation and Lightcast analysis of the green labor market in the state - we find that the green workforce in Texas is already large and is growing.

Our report estimates there were over 127,000 workers in the Texas green economy last year, with nearly 44,000 new jobs openings posted by the end of 2022.

Employment demand for green jobs will increase an estimated 11.7% over the next five years, according to the WorkingNation-Lightcast report, far above the national average of 5.5%.

Texas has a workforce well-positioned to fill those jobs. The report estimates there are more than 4.4 million workers in the state who could be upskilled into the green jobs, directly and indirectly.

"These workers come from a variety of different occupations and educational backgrounds and reskilling them could the pipeline of green workers faster than relying on new postsecondary graduates alone," the report states.

"There's this longer pathway as we think about what is the existing energy industry doing to lower its carbon footprint through adding technologies to their existing work," says Beard.

"Think about the technologies that we're putting out on the table in terms of carbon capture utilization and storage and being able to put it back into the ground, or having a hydrogen hub that's developing and delivering green hydrogen."

He adds, "And think about those facilities, which are similar to our petrochemical facilities, need to be built and maintained. The indirect jobs related to the industrial construction side in the energy transition are going to be critically important."

"We are not getting rid of petrochemicals anytime soon. We're going to need to use LNG as a bridge to get people out of other technologies like coal. So how do we make use of natural gas, which emits less carbon, to support the transition. There are these origin jobs. They're going to change and adjust as as we add low-carbon technologies into the existing industries. But then there are going be new industries like hydrogen which are the destination," says Beard.

As the new technologies grow, he says, there will be new opportunities created and barriers to entering the field can and should be lowered. "You look across the value stream and look at jobs that have lower barriers to entry, that don't require four-year degrees and probably don't require two-year technical degrees. These are [entry-level] roles that could be accessible to disadvantaged communities."

Houston: Engaging the younger generation

"We focus on how we prepare ourselves for the future," says Olivera Jankovska, the director of education for the city of Houston, the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest city in the country.

"Our mayor Sylvester Turner really focuses on ensuring that we stay at least five years ahead of what's needed in this economy."

"He's challenged each and every single department - whether it's those that deal with youth or with development of communities or with resilience - to focusing on what will the community need five years from here for our economy to continue growing," says Jankovska.

She says that as the city prepares itself for the future, there is a lot of thought given to the green economy, jobs, and energy transition.

As it turns out, Houston is the largest municipal purchaser of green power in the nation, with more than 92% of the municipal electricity supply sourced from wind and solar, according to the Climate Mayors, a bipartisan network of more than 750 mayors dedicated to create climate action on a local level. Mayor Turner was the first chair of the group and is now chair emeritus.

"We're moving away from the traditional coal, oil, and gas into a renewable, tech-based, efficiency-based economy. There are so many opportunities for efficiencies, right? EVs. Electricity. Our buildings. We are well positioned, not just for the training aspect of it, but to meet that demand," she adds.

Jankovska says the city is focusing on training the city's youth to fill these roles. "The jobs that are needed are going to have youth who are trained today for the next 5, 10, 15 years of the timeframe."

"Mayor Turner wants to focus on the untapped potential of young people participating in our economy. Houston is the nation's most diverse city, and it's a very youthful state. Twenty-five percent (25%) of the population is zero to 18, 37% is zero to 24. Those two are very valuable components towards developing a workforce that will bring those unique talents and ideas and will meet the job market needs," she tells me.

Earlier this month, Houston became the first city in the U.S. to be recognized as a child-friendly city by UNICEF, in part because of its focus over the past two years to exposing young people between the ages of 16 and 24 to local career opportunities.

Hire Houston Youth works with more than 600 local business to connect young people to eight-week-long internships, apprenticeships, and jobs. Jankovska says this is often the first exposure to a career the young people have ever had and it can be life-changing.

"Our focus for the last two years has been STEM and medicine, IT, and green jobs. For each, we had a minimum of 1,000 placements goal and I know for a fact that in all three we have exceeded that goal."

"An invested person is an interested person. So, if it's focused on carbon capture, we'll find the methods and ways to engage the youth and enlightenment about carbon capture and place them into an eight-week program. After those eight weeks, it's 'Look at that. It looks like there is a career that I don't need to go to a four-year college for and I can still get a six-figure yearly salary.' That's the mentality that we want to cultivate in the community," Jankovska concludes.

San Antonio: Employing the marginalized community

During the height of COVID, San Antonio - the nation's seventh-largest city - was making national news for the length of its food bank lines.

"So many people were impacted when businesses had to close down. People were really, really hurting financially," explains Mike Ramsey, the city's executive director of workforce development.

"The city stepped up to the plate - Mayor Ron Nirenberg and the city council - and they put a proposition on the ballot to fund workforce development for our city. Out of that was birthed the Ready to Work initiative." Ramsey oversees the program.

Ready to Work is a $200 million program designed to put people to work locally. "We have some lofty goals. We want to get 28,000-plus people into education and training programs, and get at least 15,600 of those placed into high-quality jobs in in-demand sectors, including clean energy," he adds.

San Antonio's role in the state's transition to clear energy is substantial, with a number of wind companies headquartered in the city. OCI Solar Power develops utility-scale solar energy for communities around the country and partners with the local utility company to provide electricity for San Antonio. Mission Solar is a big manufacturer of solar panels.

"Employers are expanding and growing in the clean energy space. So that they can have the talent they need to meet their business needs, we're partnering with our local community college and employers on training. We're trying to make that connection so that the people who need to benefit the most in our community are equipped with those cutting-edge skills and abilities and certifications that they need to fill those jobs," according to Ramsey.

To that end, San Antonio is also partnering with the National League of Cities to develop pathways for some of its marginalized community members in its highest poverty areas to make them aware of of the opportunities in the sector.

"Solar installers are in high demand with local contractors as companies are attempting to meet the demand for both residential and commercial applications of solar technology."

"On the manufacturing side of the house, the attention to detail, the quality control, and quality assurance are skills that are necessary and needed to fill that space," Ramsey tells me.

He adds, "As you look at the electric vehicle charging infrastructure that is aligned to federal initiatives, you need the workforce in place that is qualified and certified to both install and maintain those EV charging stations. As that infrastructure continues to be built out, it's another critical skillset that community members need to obtain in order to be able to accomplish those goals."

Ramsey points out there are many job seekers and workers who already have some of the basic skills for the industry; they just need a little extra training or certifications.

"Licensed electricians might need a specific certification in order to install the charging stations, so as an additional credential they can add to their toolbox to be able to meet the contractor demands for getting that work done. There are also some transferable skills for people who work in other industry sectors that can benefit the clean energy space. We are identifying what those skills are and which occupations provide this most seamless transition over into clean energy so that we can provide that roadmap for potential employees within the sector."

Ramsey says there has already been progress in the Ready to Work program, with hundreds of people placed in jobs with a median wage of $18 an hour to start. He sees developing this pathway in the green energy sector as essential to the city's and its residents' economic health.

"Being a high-minority, low-educational attainment rate population is something that we are trying to drastically shift. Mayor Nirenberg and the city council are intentional about wanting to change that narrative and shift the trajectory of the people in our community here. And partnering with employers in industry sectors like clean energy, that have good-paying, family-sustaining jobs, is going to be the key ingredient to putting people on a path to economic stability."

Dallas: Economic mobility through access

Dallas, the country's ninth largest city, also was hit hard by the economic fallout from the pandemic.

Fourteen-point-three percent (14.3%) of Dallas County residents lived below the poverty line in 2021, according to the most recent statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. That was down slightly from 14.6% the previous year.

Disrupting poverty through green career training and community education is at the heart of Green Careers Texas, founded as Green Careers Dallas in 2016 by executive director Tracy Wallace.

"I have a strong passion for that intersection of economic justice, racial justice, and environmental justice. Our program sits in the lowest-income zip code in the city of Dallas. Here low-income means Black and Latinx," says Wallace. "All of poverty is about lack of access to... just fill in the blank."

The program is a two-day solar installation course that teaches the basics of panel deployment, and industry safety standards. It also gives participants access to employers trying to fill these in-demand jobs. Green Careers Texas has partnered with Texas Solar Industry Society, which works with low-to-moderate income communities on local solar projects.

She says the program recruits hard-to-employ individuals, including people returning from prison or with a criminal record, and readies them for a career in the solar industry. Many of the participants are referrals through their partnership with the South Dallas Employment Project.

"The populations that we're recruiting from often have been raised in the neighborhoods that have been dumped on environmentally," adds Wallace.

"When people have been raised where their health is likely affected because of environmental nonsense - whether it's concrete batch plants or a lead smelter plant in West Dallas and a chrome platting plant - it seems like those are the people that ought to benefit from green energy first as a matter of fairness and justice."

The program has expanded from the single Dallas zip code it started in to the suburbs and now Houston. The next planned addition is Austin. Wallace says she sees it making an impact.

"For people that have been vulnerable - were it for being born in a zip code that determines your health outcomes or your educational outcome - then access should be there to participate in this industry. I've watched people that enter the industry not knowing what they're going to do with their lives. And they start working in this industry and before you know it they're operations manager running the warehouse. There is a true pathway of advancement."

Austin: Equity in green workforce development

With 966,000-plus residents, the Texas capital of Austin now ranks as the tenth largest city in the country and it continues to be one of the fastest growing. By one estimate, Austin could have more than three million residents by 2030.

The city government is on a mission to make certain that growth is done in a green way. According to a report prepared for it by the University of Texas-Austin, "If forceful actions are not taken to transform the way we produce, consume and travel, the economic costs of climate change and associated effects will undermine our livelihoods and way of life."

That call to action means new career opportunities. "Our analysis demonstrates that robust growth in the green economy opens new pathways to high-quality jobs and rewarding careers for those who have historically had limited opportunities in the Austin labor market," says Michael Oden, one of the authors of the report.

Austin Civilian Conservation Corps (ACCC) is part of the city's Parks and Recreation Department. It describes itself as "the next generation Climate Corps." Its mission is to prioritize equity in green workforce development, while expanding the narrative around what a green career looks like.

"Equity is centered throughout ACCC," explains Juan Espinoza, ACCC program manager.

"The history of green workforce development has primarily been accessible to whiter, wealthier communities, despite much of the work being done in communities of color. ACCC works to provide these same opportunities so that the future of the green workforce has people from the communities in which much of the work is done."

ACCC Internal Pathways is a cross-departmental effort that consists of 53 temporary staff positions hired as individual placements within specific green job fields within the city of Austin. Most of the participants are from Austin and have graduated from high school. Some participants are in college while others are considering their next steps.

"These ACCC members and specialists gain exposure to environmental careers through hands-on experience, job shadowing, mentorship, career portfolio-building, and exposure to equity-based green workforce curriculum," adds Espinoza.

"Job placement after their term is a main focus. The specialists are people who have successfully matriculated through the program who serve as team leads for the newer members and work to expand their pathways."

Espinoza says that internships and experiential learning opportunities have been proven to have significant impact on the future career paths of participants, but these opportunities have traditionally been limited to those with connections and know-how.

"ACCC members get these same benefits while being paid. Through the career development opportunities, the ACCC members have clearer paths into professional careers; opportunities many of their family members and neighbors may have never had," he says.

WorkingNation senior editorial producer Laura Aka contributed to this report.

Ramona Schindelheim wrote this article for WorkingNation.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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Leaders of a teachers' union in Louisiana are voicing concerns about a package of bills they say would have the effect of dissolving labor unions in the state.

The list includes House Bill 571, which would prohibit public agencies from paying union workers for the time they do anything union-related, even if it's on paid leave.

If passed, said Roberto Furtado, a special-education teacher in the Jefferson Parish Public School System, the bills would end collective bargaining and prohibit payroll deductions for union dues. Furtado said all this would make it harder for new teachers to join the union, further silencing their voices.

"If they make it more difficult for the new teachers, young teachers, to get involved," he said, "then basically, it's a roadblock so they're probably more than likely going to just not do it."

House Bill 572 would prohibit public agencies from collective bargaining with unions, except for police and firefighters. Similar bills have been introduced in multiple states by conservative groups.

The teachers' union has posted petitions on its website for teachers to sign and send to their lawmakers.

Educators in Louisiana have said they're dealing with low pay, overcrowded classrooms and school safety issues. However, state lawmakers have advanced a budget proposal that would cut teacher pay, and the House Appropriations Committee forwarded a spending plan that reduces a $2,000 pay stipend teachers got this school year to $1,300 next year.

Furtado said the end result is forcing good teachers out of the profession.

"Teachers are an invaluable resource for our community, and so we need good, well-rounded educators that want to be there and continue their jobs to help these young men and women, because again, they are our future," he insisted. "That's kind of corny to say this, but yes, our children are our future. If you don't take care of them, where does our future lie?"

The legislative committee also allocated $25 million for a differential teacher compensation strategy for the second year in a row. The union opposed the strategy, because it said the raises wouldn't be permanent and could be taken away from year to year.


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By Lane Wendell Fischer for the Shasta Scout via The Daily Yonder.
Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service for the Public News Service/Daily Yonder Collaboration

Hiring and maintaining a qualified educator workforce is often a primary concern for rural schools across the country, requiring local education leaders to create innovative solutions.

The University of Wyoming’s College of Education has recently partnered with local community colleges across the state to repair a pipeline for future Career and Technical Education (CTE) teachers at high schools and community colleges. 

CTE programs offer students an array of skills-based learning opportunities for many high-demand industries ranging from construction, to nursing, to marketing.

For decades, Wyoming has relied on traditional methods to fill out its CTE teacher workforce. After completing a two-year associate’s degree at their community college, students could either enter the trades or take another two years of teacher training. 

“It was very much a fork in the road,” said Rob Hill, a CTE consultant for the University of Wyoming and president of SkillsUSA Wyoming. Hill became a Wyoming CTE teacher through this traditional path.

“You had to take life off and go to school,” Hill said. “That limited a lot of people, especially students with families, jobs, and homes.”

As it turned out, most students never completed the final two years of teacher training and just entered the trades after the first two years at their community college, Hill said in an interview with the Daily Yonder.

This outdated pipeline has contributed to a shortage of both CTE teachers and skilled workers in the state.

According to a 2023 report from the Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board, the median age of CTE teachers in Wyoming schools is 52, and national numbers are similar. Compare this to the average age of all teachers in the U.S., which is just over 42. 

On average, a state employee in Wyoming retires at 62. This means that in the next 7 to 10 years, Wyoming could lose close to half of its CTE workforce to retirement.

“We’ve seen a number of things that have impacted us and that rural part is very real,” Hill said.

In rural communities, a CTE program might only consist of one or two teachers. When that school loses a teacher, the whole program is at risk until a qualified replacement is found. 

During a recent tour of Wyoming’s school districts, Jenna Shim, PhD and interim dean of the College of Education, learned that some high school CTE programs are closing down because they couldn’t find replacements.

“One CTE teacher shared with me that he has a specialty in welding, but he has to teach culinary arts,” Shim told the Daily Yonder. “I could see welding and construction, but welding and culinary arts seem like a far stretch.”

And it can be difficult to attract new talent to small schools and communities. 

“We tend to do best with people that are invested in that community previously and become teachers, as opposed to bringing in teachers into small communities,” Hill said.

The CTE Domino Effect in Rural Communities

Adding to the difficulty of attracting new teachers is a domino effect caused by current teacher shortages, Shim and Hill said.

A shortage of educators leads to a shortage of high school CTE programs, which leads to a shortage of students pursuing CTE in the state, followed by a shortage of tradespeople in the state, and a shortage of essential services, which, in turn, leads to less attractive communities.

On top of educational advancement for students, repairing CTE teacher pipelines through state and local partnerships helps assemble the next generation of rural water experts, plumbers, electricians, technicians, mechanics, and more, Hill said.

“It has a trickle-down effect into the stability of the community,” Shim said.

And in rural communities, small fluctuations in population, programs, and services can be especially catastrophic — or especially beneficial. 

“It doesn’t seem like a big deal if you don’t have one teacher,” Hill said. “But that one teacher in a town of 2000 people that teaches welding, where you have a huge welding industry, that has an extremely large impact.”

The broken pipeline has also raised economic concerns. “Without a sufficient number of teachers, it’s hard to prepare a sufficient workforce,” Shim said.

Two key industries in Wyoming are energy and tourism. Both rely heavily on skilled workers. And both are susceptible to booms and busts that give local communities economic whiplash.

“Over the last decade especially, there’s been a real desire to diversify our workforce,” Hill said. “And that means a different generation of career and technical education, like manufacturing, cybersecurity, and data analysis.”

Repairing the Pipeline

The biggest problem in the previous CTE teacher pipeline was continuity, Hill said. The pathway to teacher certification in rural communities must be both attractive and achievable.

This spring, the College of Education piloted a new course that aims to do both by exposing community college students to CTE teaching before they complete their associate’s degree and decide between trades work or teaching. 

“Creating a more seamless pathway is a real goal here,” Hill explained. 

The bridge course will be offered each semester in partnership with all eight community colleges in the state and is inherently low stakes. The course credits can be applied toward an associate’s degree at the community college, toward their teaching degree at the university, or toward any other bachelor’s degree they pursue.

In the course, students get a taste of what a career in CTE teaching is like. Coordinated by Hill, the course is one dose online learning and one dose on-site learning. Hill leads the online classroom, where students learn about different national and statewide topics. “But students will learn about how it’s implemented locally,” Hill said. 

Each community college has a community college professional and a school district professional that serve as a mentor and safety net for local students, introducing them to CTE leaders at both levels. 

One area of misconception is how much CTE teachers are paid, Shim said.

“I think wages scare them most,” Hill said. “But in Wyoming, our hourly wage is higher than many of the trades folks. We have pensions. We have healthcare. It’s a lot more competitive than folks think it is.”

The organization of the course is a masterclass in rural ingenuity. By using technology, the course eliminates long distance travel to the university campus in Laramie on the southern border of the state. It allows students to remain in their local communities, while still being connected to the state’s CTE teacher network.

“We knew we had a statewide problem and we needed to create a statewide solution, or in this case, a local solution for a statewide problem,” Hill said. “This is about connecting people in Wyoming. Because we have these vast distances between us, we have to have a way to connect people.”

Twenty-two students are currently enrolled in the pilot course. Half of the inaugural cohort are community college students. The other half includes veterans, community college instructors, K-12 instructors, and paraprofessionals who are exploring their future career options.

The course has garnered support from state legislators, the university, the colleges, local high schools, local business, and from the students themselves. 

Each of the enrolled students is taking the course tuition-free, thanks to scholarships from local businesses and private donors.

“Word is getting out,” Shim said. “I think that’s a testimony for how important this work is.”

Strong CTE programs lead to strong communities, Shim and Hill said. A lot of high school CTE programs are embedded into community culture. Organizations like FFA provide opportunities for social gathering and community service, for example. 

“We’ve come up with a mutually beneficial solution and this takes a partnership and teamwork,” Hill said. “No significant advances take place without a group of us working together in a mutually beneficial system.”


Lane Wendell Fischer wrote this article for the Shasta Scout via The Daily Yonder.


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Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick has released 57 "interim charges," the topics he wants Senate committees to study in preparation for the 89th legislative session next year.

Four charges are for the committee overseeing public education. They include improving reading and math readiness in grade school, and redesigning the state's standardized tests.

Eli Melandrez, government relations associate for the American Federation of Teachers-Texas, said educators are surprised the list does not include pay increases for teachers or controversial school vouchers, which use public money to pay for private schooling.

"It's interesting to see both of those key issues absent from the interim charges," Melandrez observed. "Across the state we've seen school closures; we've seen teachers being let go. We've seen a greater percentage of our teacher workforce as uncertified educators."

Two unsuccessful special sessions were held in the past few months, in an attempt to pass a school voucher proposal. Other charges for public schools include examining how school districts used COVID-19 funding, and monitoring the implementation of bills passed in the last session.

Patrick also directed the Higher Education Committee to analyze faculty senates, monitor bans on DEI policies at colleges and universities and revise policies for faculty tenure.

Melandrez noted their union is now affiliated with the American Association of University Professors and members are concerned the lieutenant governor is inserting his own political views into the education system.

"That's worrisome for us," Melandrez emphasized. "In public education and higher education, we are seeing a concerted effort to minimize educator voices."

Patrick also wants senators to review university antisemitism policies and protecting the First Amendment rights of faculty, staff and students. The next legislative session convenes Jan. 14, 2025.