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Low Income Energy Efficiency Workforce Education & Training

Project

Workshop 5: Workforce Education & TrainingOctober 31, 2011San Francisco

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WE&T Pilot Project Background

Decision (D.) 08-11-031, Ordering Paragraph 35 required Energy Division to issue an RFP to recruit and train residents of disadvantaged, low income communities to assess and install energy efficiency measures in households as part of the IOU Low Income Energy Efficiency (LIEE) program

– Develop and implement a certificate program (offered through an educational institution)

– Including both in-class and hands-on training Bidder teams needed to include partners from:

– Educational institutions– LIEE implementation contractors– IOUs

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WE&T Pilot Project Background

Two teams were selected:– Los Angeles Trade Technical College (LATTC) in the

SoCalGas service area – San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce

Development (SF OEWD) team in PG&E’s service area

ED was the Project Manager and assigned PG&E to serve as the Contract Administrator

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The SF OEWD Pilot

SF OEWD collaborated with PG&E’s Energy Training Center in Stockton (ETC) to develop a training curriculum preparing students for jobs in the ESA Program

Students self-selected into the ESA Program training module following their completion of ongoing SF OEWD training held at SF City College

There were two ESA Program trainings in 2010: – July 14-16 had seven students– December 14-16 had six students

Following their ESA Program training, students attended a 3-day PG&E policies and procedures course

– Rather than the 8 day ETC training required of all other PG&E ESA Program implementers

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SF OEWD Results

QCS hired six graduates from the WE&T pilot: two installers, one telemarketer and three Energy Specialists– QCS offered jobs to three additional graduates,

who accepted the offer of employment but then did not show up for training or work

Synergy interviewed and hired six Energy Specialists, but only 2 followed through

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The SF OEWD Pilot: Hiring Challenges

Showing up– Several students did not show up for scheduled interviews,

PG&E training, or their first day of work– Available jobs are not always where students want (or are

able) to go Filling out Job Applications

– Some students were unable to fill out the job application Passing Background Checks

– Several graduates were unable to pass background screening for the DMV or California State Licensing Board’s Home Improvement Salesperson certification

– Background checks should be completed before training

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The SF OEWD Pilot: PG&E Recommendations

SF OEWD training should provide a wider variety of energy efficiency practices for students to offer as examples in customer homes, as appropriate for the customers’ situation and equipment

ESA Program contractors should interview students before they attend PG&E training

– This could provide additional motivation to perform well in class Expand customer contact curriculum covering soft skills and

outreach – Students need to be comfortable speaking with new potential

customers about energy efficiency education provided as part of an ESA Program visit

The PG&E policies and procedures training for these students should be expanded from 3 to 4 days

– Material would be delivered at a less accelerated pace, allowing for some review of SF City College material, such as customer contact and energy efficiency practices

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The LATTC Pilot

The LATTC two week basic training offered students the fundamental concepts of what jobs in the weatherization field entail

LATTC courses were offered at an accelerated pace LATTC worked with industry partners to create a

realistic class schedule and timeline to also meet the demands for trained students

LATTC leveraged their existing skills training center to include ESA Program-specific measures in their existing curriculum

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The LATTC Pilot: Contractor Comments

TELACU hired and trained 18 additional weatherization installers and 5 Outreach Specialist/assessors

– Thirteen weatherization installers are still working– One of the Outreach Specialists is still working with them

Community Enhancement Services considers LATTC a good source of hires

– LATTC students had an advantage over other prospective applicants due to their preparation and knowledge

Interviewing students were prepared with the required documents such as resume and DMV printout.

Students were knowledgeable about weatherization and the type of work that they were looking for

– CES hired three LATTC students in 2010

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LATTC Challenges

Enrollment and assessment cohorts were not as successful as weatherization students

– Probably due to detailed ESA Program policies and procedures requirements

Student access to transportation was an issue – Some students either could not (or were unwilling to)

explore ESA Program opportunities outside of the urban area of Los Angeles

It was difficult to assess results of this pilot because LATTC did not separate out their previous or concurrent training from curricula and training undertaken specifically for this pilot

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The LATTC Pilot:SoCalGas Recommendations

LATTC should improve knowledge of CPUC, ESA Program and general regulatory environment and requirements

– Energy Division, Contract Administrator, and/or participating utility to conduct orientation meeting for pilot stakeholders

LATTC should significantly improve communication channels and time-driven responses

– LATTC should increase the transparency of materials and activities developed with pilot funds and progress towards completion of pilot requirements

LATTC should appropriately assign resources to fulfill pilot and contractual obligations, including development materials and implementation plan

LATTC should include electric utility participation in ESA Program training certification requirements and development and job training opportunities

LATTC should continue providing Basic Skills Training to increase aptitude of student population.

– Continue collecting data on barriers to training participation and job placement that are characteristic to low-income students