Green Job Advisory Board

The Overview

In November 2008, The Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (TRWIB), Student Conservation Association (SCA), and Growth through Energy & Community Health (GTECH) collaborated to convene over 90 regional organizations representing the spectrum of workforce development to initiate an ongoing dialogue around Green Jobs. This “roundtable” was brought about due to mounting public opportunities around Green Job training programs, the successful implementation of a Pittsburgh Green Jobs Corps, and an emerging regional asset known as the Green Innovator project.

Since February 2009 the TRWIB has continued to convene stakeholders and provide a forum to further advance a regional dialogue regarding green jobs opportunities based largely upon feedback garnered from the November Roundtable event. Based in part on the existence of this advisory body, the Pittsburgh region is rapidly advancing a sustainable agenda that serves as a national model in developing targeted opportunities for bolstering regional capacity in the green economy.

Currently GTECH works with the TRWIB to serve in a facilitative and coordinating capacity

The Opportunity and Value

The Green Jobs Advisory Board is a diverse body of stakeholders committed to growing the regional green economy through collaboration and enhancement of educational, training and employment opportunities. Composed of workforce development professionals, environmental experts, trade unions, corporate employers, community based organizations, policy advocates, public officials, educators and small businesses, The GJAB is a forum for information sharing, collaboration, and strategic development.

Assuring that job creation is guided by living wages, portability, & certifications in creation of pathways that eliminate barriers to employment and advancement, GJAB enhances the region’s social, economic and natural environments.

Core Values and Guiding Principles

Grow Green Economy opportunities at all levels across the region
Ensure social equity for job training programs that offer priority to disenfranchised populations including minorities, women, un/underemployed individuals, adjudicated youth & adults and/or low-income persons.
Create bridges to connect pathways between job networks
Establish and maintain collaborative channels to create avenues of respect and information sharing between sectors
Commit to environmental literacy and conservation in support of job training programs that encourage participants appreciate the natural world in their neighborhoods and build connections between environmental and social issues.
Support sustainable workforce development through dedicated to measureable outcomes
Emphasize transparency and inclusivity ensuring honesty and openness to build understanding for the shared common purpose of sustainable job creation in SWPA

The Pittsburgh-based Green Job Advisory Board continues to strengthen and evolve, reflecting both the challenges and opportunities that the Green Economy brings to the community and region. Pittsburgh and the surrounding region is fast becoming a national leader in Green Economy work force opportunities, but also, in Green Economy infrastructure strategies and leadership.