Overview
NM Labor Market Information Improvement Grant
Linking Green Job Portals to Opportunity
The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (NMDWS) received an individual State Labor Market Information Improvement Grant, in the amount of $1,250,000, to offer critically needed job information to laid-off workers by defining the workforce dimensions of the state's emerging green economy. The grant provides the resources needed to frame and answer questions about green employers, demand for new skill sets, emerging green occupations, and educational and training opportunities available across the state. NMDWS recognizes the immediate needs for data and analysis of the workforce continuum in the four key sectors:
- Renewable Energy;
- Green Clean Manufacturing;
- Energy Efficiency; and
- Research, Development, and Administration.
To gain a better picture of green-related workforce needs within the four key sectors; a statewide employer baseline was established and follow-up surveys were conducted by the Arrowhead Center at New Mexico State University. NMDWS' Economic Research & Analysis Bureau (ER&A) provided direction and oversight of the surveys, analysis, and report writing. ER&A will conduct an educational inventory with the assistance of the New Mexico Public Education and Higher Education Departments. Ultimately, survey results and data will be widely disseminated to job seekers, educational institutions, business communities, and state agencies, but beyond this informational function, the results will provide for a foundation to help guide the State Energy Sector Partnership and Training grant efforts. The Grant's final deliverable report will contain an impact analysis, educational inventory, educational gap analysis, and industry and occupational projections for the workforce regions of the state.
Another core deliverable is the deployment of the Mobile Green Jobs Workforce Center (MGJWC), whereby job seekers will have access to new computer workstations, software, and online services resulting from the Grant research utilizing this new resource. The MGJWC will be more responsive to the targeted population needs by making resources available to job seekers in all areas and communities with the most need, such as the state's rural population, isolated Native American tribal areas, and other underserved communities. The MGJWC can also serve as a training center to promote workforce information and other topics at mass layoff rapid response locations around the state. Lastly, the MGJWC will serve as a primary extension to the advertising campaign to help stimulate the growth of New Mexico's new green economy.
All the data collection and dissemination activities outlined under this Grant will provide essential information to help stimulate the growth of New Mexico's new green economy and help fill the job market void left by recent business contractions and closures. NMDWS will gain information and insight about the impact of the new green emerging industries and will have the resources to better connect the state's workforce to green job information.
