What happens after industry comes together for conferences, expos, and summits?
Every year after the National Supplier Diversity Institute hosts its National Clean Energy DEIJ Summit, committee members follow up with event sponsors to stay committed to their promise of ensuring meaningful and measurable clean energy DEIJ.
Check out an example of 2023 Silver Sponsor Vineyard Offshore and what they are doing in the area of clean energy workforce DEIJ.
New Bedford Local Hiring Events: In 2022, we hosted three workforce hiring events: two on Martha’s Vineyard (April and September) and a third in New Bedford (September). At the New Bedford event, a total of 21 companies participated in these events, including 14 hiring companies and 7 educational or supplemental companies for individuals who were not ready to join the workforce at the time of the hiring event. Extensive outreach efforts ahead of each event—led by Vineyard Wind and our community partner Vineyard Power—proved to be extremely successful with over 230 residents attending the events. Outreach efforts included distributing flyers around local businesses, going door to door, social media campaigns, radio ads, and online event websites.
PLA hiring targets: The PLA made a commitment that will result in more than 500 union jobs during project construction, along with hiring goals for women; Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC); and local residents, to ensure that the local, underrepresented union workers have the opportunity to become qualified in offshore wind. Specifically, the PLA called for 51% of the workforce to be residents of Southeastern Massachusetts (Bristol, Plymouth, Barnstable, and Duke Counties); 20% to be BIPOC; and 10% women. Contractors were to engage in processes and plans to achieve the BIPOC and women employment goals. Vineyard Wind provided $500,000 for Building Pathways pre-apprenticeship training along with similar programs to help recruit, train, and employ local, BIPOC, and women apprentices for offshore wind and committed to supporting these programs and ongoing recruitment in the communities where Vineyard Wind is working.
Photo credit: Lauran Owens Lambert
