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Welcome to this month’s edition of our newsletter! Here, we’ll share what we’re reading, thinking, and doing—and help you stay informed about what other movers and shakers are doing in the green workforce development space. This newsletter is designed as a resource for you, so let us know which topics you’d like to see more of and what resources would be the most helpful!
Inside This Month’s Edition
🚀 Launchpad Updates
Cohort 6 Waitlist Is Open: If you missed Cohort 5, now's your chance to get in line for our Accelerator for Green Workforce Developers—a 6-week program designed to equip workforce specialists and career advisors with the sector literacy, tools, and community to launch green careers in their regions. C6 will kick off in Sep.
Energy Thought Summit 2026: The Green Launchpad showed up strong at the 13th annual Energy Thought Summit in April! Angela moderated and Antuan spoke in Breakout K: The Resilience Dividend: How Grid Hardening Drives Community Resilience, Economic Growth, and Workforce Development — a timely conversation on building a 21st-century energy system that is secure, resilient, and equitable for all.
Energy Efficiency Employer-led Workforce Toolkit: We have an exciting new resource on the horizon — stay tuned for the official launch date coming later this month. More details to come!
🔍 Career Highlight
Are you looking to better understand the connection between clean energy and workforce development? We’ve got you covered! Watch this short video for a breakdown of The Green Launchpad’s Clean Energy Framework.
Clean energy careers span across multiple sectors, segments, and systems — each playing a vital role in the green workforce. Each month, we’ll spotlight one key sector, segment, or system driving the clean energy transition and highlight the careers and skills shaping the future.
This Month…
We’re continuing our exploration into Tech-Enabled careers in clean energy—a cross-cutting set of roles that support the clean energy transition across multiple sectors. From energy efficiency and electrification to renewables, buildings, and grid systems, these roles are essential to how clean energy is designed, implemented, and optimized. While green tech jobs span all eight segments of the clean energy ecosystem, they are especially prominent in energy efficiency across New York—where data, systems, and performance optimization play a critical role in reducing emissions and improving building operations.
2 Sample Career Pathways in Tech-Enabled Jobs
Solutions Architect
This high-impact role bridges the gap between complex technical systems and real business goals — from cloud infrastructure to digital transformation initiatives. Solutions Architects collaborate across teams to design integrated solutions that are built to last, making it a strong fit for mission-driven professionals who want their work to shape long-term organizational strategy.
Note: This video is not specific to the clean energy sector, but it highlights many of the core responsibilities.
Operations Support Specialist
This behind-the-scenes powerhouse role keeps organizations running smoothly—managing vendor relationships, coordinating logistics, overseeing budgets, and ensuring day-to-day office and operational systems stay on track. A background in admin or customer service, combined with solid skills in tools like Excel and Outlook, can open the door.
Note: This video is not specific to the clean energy sector, but it highlights many of the core responsibilities.
The career pathways highlighted above are adapted from the 2025 IREC “A Landscape Analysis of Tech Careers in the Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Fields” report.
🙌 Launchpad Community Updates
NYPA Nuclear Energy Workforce Training RFA: The New York Power Authority is seeking qualified NYS-based training providers — including community colleges, technical high schools, trade associations, and others — to develop and deliver nuclear energy technical training, hands-on experience, and job placement support. Applications are due July 31, 2026 by 5 p.m. EDT.
BlackRock Future Builders RFP: Jobs for the Future is administering this $25 million first round of a $100 million philanthropic initiative to expand access to skilled trades training across the U.S. Applications are due July 10, 2026 by 11:59 p.m.
Building and Financing the Green Workforce: A Roadmap for Mayor Mamdani: The Green Economy Network has released a bold new policy brief with three concrete recommendations for the Mamdani administration. This is a must-read for anyone working at the intersection of climate policy and workforce development
Henry Street Settlement Training & Education Resources Fair: Henry Street Settlement is hosting a Clean Energy Career Center training fair on Friday, June 5th at 302 Henry Street. If you have a clean energy–focused training program and are interested in exhibiting, reach out to Mahin at [email protected] to get involved.
NYCETC Releases On the Ground: An Affordable Climate Economy: NYCETC's timely new report makes the case that building a coordinated, demand-driven green workforce is the key to delivering both climate progress and economic opportunity for New Yorkers. With projections of at least 360,000 green jobs by 2040, the report calls for stronger employer partnerships, neighborhood-based training, and intentional public investment to ensure those jobs are accessible to all.
Willdan Clean Energy Academy Spring Graduation: On May 27th, we celebrated the newest alumni of the Clean Energy Academy—and what a milestone it was! These graduates put in the work, and we couldn't be more proud to welcome them into the growing ranks of clean energy professionals shaping our city's future.
Westchester SKILLS Magazine Feature: We're excited to share that The Green Launchpad was recently featured in Westchester SKILLS Magazine — a fantastic publication covering the workforce development landscape across the region. Check out the latest issue here to see our work highlighted alongside other great things happening in Westchester's workforce ecosystem.
🏛️ Policy Brief
New York Amends CLCPA—2030 Target Replaced With 2040 Milestone: Governor Hochul's $268 billion budget deal extends New York's near-term emissions reduction target from 40% by 2030 to 60% by 2040, while preserving the 2050 goal and directing $1 billion toward climate projects.
$15 Million Available for Building Electrification Innovation: NYSERDA's new Innovation for Affordable Building Electrification program targets New York's existing building sector with funding focused on heat pump technologies and grid-interactive systems, creating new demand for skilled trades and clean energy product developers.
$6 Million Awarded to Expand Vehicle-Grid Integration: Seven projects received funding through NYSERDA's Vehicle Grid Integration Program to advance bi-directional charging, EV managed charging, and energy storage.
Advocates Sound the Alarm on CLCPA Rollback: Labor unions and climate groups are pushing for $3 billion annually for the Sustainable Future Program, and the NY Senate has passed the ASAP Act to raise the distributed solar goal to 20 GW by 2035.
