Coal, oil, and natural gas have a long history as the world’s primary energy sources. Many communities have sprung up around mines and drilling sites, and generations of people have relied on hardworking laborers to brave the cold, darkness, or rough seas to keep the lights on at home. As the world transitions to renewable power, it is vital to train energy workers so they still have access to high-paying jobs and can keep providing for their families.

A Just Transition

More than 65 million people work in the energy industry, with fossil fuel workers accounting for 1% of global employment. The renewables sector now employs about half of all energy workers worldwide—and that number is rapidly growing.

In 2016, there was a 32% employment increase in the wind power industry, while the number of people working in solar power grew by one quarter. With so many positions opening up, many renewable energy companies are eyeing existing energy workers as potential new hires, especially as industries like coal are hemorrhaging jobs.

Oil and gas workers often have skills that transfer naturally to renewable energy positions. For example, chemical engineers can help produce green hydrogen to power trucks. Petroleum engineers can bring their knowledge to geothermal drilling jobs, while offshore oil workers can transfer to offshore wind, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage facilities. Fossil fuel workers also have a litany of other qualifications—physical endurance, a strong work ethic, and the ability to get along with people—that renewable energy companies are looking for.

During the transition period to a renewable economy, it is crucial that energy workers do not experience unemployment or lose their sense of pride in providing for their communities. How can fossil fuels workers seamlessly switch jobs?

Federal Assistance

One way to ensure a just transition is for governments to provide training programs and subsidies for renewable energy workers. In the U.S., for example, the Economic Development Administration operates the POWER Initiative to help communities that previously relied on coal change industries. The initiative provides aid to programs that encourage entrepreneurship, workforce development, and job creation outside of the coal sector. This federal assistance can supply workers access to training they otherwise could not afford.

Programs like the Renewable Energy Tax Credit subsidize renewable energy for businesses and homeowners. In addition to creating jobs, they supply renewable energy companies better funding to train new workers—and retain them. Clean energy workers in the U.S. enjoy up to 19% higher hourly wages than the national average, earning $5 to $10 more per hour even at the lowest ends of the income spectrum.

Workforce Mapping

Forecasting how many employees an organization needs, where it needs them, and what roles they will fill is a critical step in creating training programs to onboard fossil fuels workers. Renewable energy companies can use this information to recruit and hire the right people.

For example, workforce mapping can analyze fossil fuels workers’ skills and compare them to the skills required in the renewable energy sector. It can also identify which workers have strong management or organizational talents that could translate to leadership roles in their new job.

Transition Centers

People whose jobs are being phased out may need help figuring out what to do next. They may not have examples of successful transitions to use as a road map, so they may experience pessimism or anxiety about changing jobs.

Transition centers can guide energy workers through the process of switching to a new industry. They can offer training programs, financial aid, and counseling services to fossil fuels workers looking for a job in renewable energy. Transition centers can also help workers get extended employment or post-employment insurance benefits.

Fostering Change

At the same time traditional energy jobs are declining, positions in the renewables sector are rapidly opening up. Fossil fuels workers are some of the best candidates for these jobs because they have the drive, experience, and industry expertise to seamlessly make the switch.

Often, company-provided training in technical skills—like installing solar panels or wind turbines—is enough to get workers up to speed. However, employees can also benefit from official transition centers, federal aid, and careful workforce mapping on the part of their employers. These strategies will supply fossil fuel workers the best possible chance of changing jobs while offering them the support they deserve.

—Jane Marsh is Editor-in-Chief of Environment.co where she covers subjects related to climate policy and renewable energy, among other things.

Copyright 2023 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

BLOOMINGTON, In. – Dr. Bradley Sage, athletic training program director and associate professor at Indiana University (IU), has made history as every student in his Master’s program passed their certification tests on their first attempts.

There is such a thing as breaking records, it is another to blow one out of the water. The former resident of Salamanca has found a great amount of success within his IU Master of Science in Athletic Training (M.S.A.T.) cohort this year. The program is designed to prepare students to become athletic trainers, a profession that has been thrust into the spotlight in lue of latest events.

“It’s a professional degree program to prepare students to become athletic trainers,” Sage said. “Most notably with the Damar Hamlin situation last year, the athletic trainers that performed CPR and saved his life on the field, that’s who this program trains students to become. That’s the profession that we are in.”

For the nation, the average passing rate for students in a program such as Sage’s for the first time sits at 74.1% according to the 2022-23 Board of Certification (BOC) for the Athletic Trainer analytic report. Sage’s program outpaced this mark by 25.9%. To this, he credits the top-notch faculty that are brought to the university and dedicated bright minds that enroll in the program.

“I think we have a very strong faculty,” Sage said. “Being a large institution we are able to recruit some of the best faculty from around the country. Also our students do their clinical work … do throughout the program with the athletic trainers at IU Bloomington and across the country. So I think they’ve had experience with some of the best health care professionals our program has to offer.”

While the rate testing success may speak for itself, there is more to it than meets the eye. Across the nation, cohorts in other M.S.A.T. programs contain an average of 8.6 students. However, Sage’s group of disciples within the university’s school of public health numbered at 13 students. As the program gains notoriety, Sage says the students enrolling in the course are some of “the best and brightest” and that the work ethic of the students continues to stay at a high level.

“Being a large program we are able to recruit the best and brightest students,” he said “They did all the work, they prepared hard for it, studied hard and their efforts were definitely shown by all of them, passing on that first try.”

SAGE TAKES a great deal of pride when it comes to the success of his program. For students to come to him with a dream that he is able to help come true, is something he does not take for granted. However, his pride does not simply exist within the confines of his classroom and what the numbers may say. He is also proud to know that his students are going to continue to uphold good standards in the field.

“I take great pride in that because the students come to me with a dream … I often tell them I’m the bridge from where they came from to where they are going next,” he said. “So to see them take that next critical step towards achieving their dreams, I take a great deal of pride in that. I also take a lot of pride in knowing the health care of the people they are going to treat in the future is well preserved. They are very well prepared and ready to enter the field.”

The certification test that these students are required to pass is not easy per se. Despite being classified as an entry level exam, students need to be able to not only retain what they learned, they also need to be able to apply it.

“It is a rather difficult exam, Sage said. “It covers the five domains of athletic training so students really need to put in a lot of time to prepare and much of the test is geared towards scenario based application of knowledge.”

The BOC describes these five domains as Risk Reduction, Wellness and Health Literacy, Assessment, Evaluation and Diagnosis, Critical Incident Management, Therapeutic Intervention and Health Administration and Professional Responsibility.

It is worth noting that the sort of program that Sage teaches has evolved in latest years. According to him, athletic training used to simply be a Bachelor’s level program and the shift to a Master’s level was to be closer on the level with healthcare professionals. This is something Sage believes draws students to IU’s program. Another thing that attracts students is the pass rate and job placement following Sage’s program.

“Students are very well-informed about what makes a successful program,” he said. “They do look at things like pass rate and job placement and we are actually held by our accreditation to make that information publicly available to them … and since we’ve started our Master’s program we are over 96% for our first time pass rate and all of our students have gotten jobs within the first six months of graduating from our program … (Students) want a program that is going to prepare them to pass the test on the first try and to not waste any time. They (also) more than likely want to be able to get a job after they graduate.”

ANOTHER PROSPECT that plays a role in students coming to IU and enrolling in Sage’s program is the opportunities for experience while at the university.

“Being able to come to a Big Ten institution and provide their clinical experience with Big Ten athletics and also our track record of putting students in successful summer immersion opportunities, like in the NFL … have allowed us to recruit a good number of quality students,” Sage said.

The M.S.A.T. program was first brought to IU in 2019 and since Sage has been in charge of the program, the level of job placement has been superb across the board with students using what they’ve learned in levels from high school sports all the way to the professional level.

“We have had students get a job in the high school setting as athletic trainers … (In) the last two graduating cohorts, the majority have actually gone on to collegiate athletics,” he said. “We’ve had some all the way from division one all the way through division three.

The last cohort included two working season-long internships with NFL teams in Detroit and Washington and another in a minor-league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.

“So those wishing to pursue professional athletics, they will go into those organizations as well,” Sage said.

While making history with his most latest cohort, Sage looks forward to the future where he hopes he and his students will continue to uphold the tradition of excellence that Indiana University stands for and bring athletic training “into the future.” His ultimate goal being “that any athlete … has access to the healthcare they deserve” and to achieve that he must continue to do his part in helping his students become the best athletic trainers they can.