SEI helped secure funding for and is a key partner in the Home Energy Retrofit Occupations (HERO) grant, one of the federal Department of Labor’s Community Based Job Training Grants. Led by the San Mateo County Workforce Investment Board, the program partners with the Alameda County’s Workforce Investment Board, Skyline College, Cañada and Ohlone Colleges, the Home Performance Resource Center, and include all partners

For HERO, SEI is providing strategic analysis and support services to enhance recruitment, training and job placement activities.

SEI led the start of the grant by creating an innovative workforce recruitment tool for the Home Performance Resource Center. Although many people are interested in “green careers” too often they don’t know much about what a given green industry has to offer professionally. For people interested in the Home Performance Industry, SEI created a career self-assessment and career video profiles so job seekers could get a real-world look at jobs in the Home Performance industry, and see how their own skills and interests stack up against what these jobs require. In addition, the tool is a valuable resource for job search networking and training opportunities. This tool is currently available and being used by employers and job seekers alike.

Although HERO partners are committed to this project, many workforce staff are unfamiliar with the industry and therefore are challenged to recruit effectively. To help HERO partners effectively recruit candidates for HERO classes, SEI developed a “bootcamp” for HERO partners consisting of an expert panel to speak about the status of the industry as well as a presentation three one-pagers about home performance, career pathways, and the HERO program. SEI also presented an adjustable Power Point slide deck to the HERO partners for their use in communicating HERO’s activities and goals.

As HERO enters it’s second year, SEI is playing a strategic analysis role for project partners by assessing the home performance industry in order to guide HERO courses and partner efforts to best support the unemployed and dislocated workers looking for a career in energy efficiency and renewable energy. SEI conducted industry interviews and secondary analysis to help partners better understand how current economic conditions are affecting industry growth and workforce needs.

In the coming year, SEI will further support this program by engaging in a number of support functions including;

• Writing and sharing a quarterly industry newsletter containing upcoming HERO courses and articles communicating the developments and status of the home performance industry.
• Setting up and implementing a Job fair to connect HERO graduates with job opportunities in hiring home performance companies.
• Implementing a broad-based industry engagement and trainee recruitment campaign to raise awareness of the HERO courses and grow the home performance workforce.
• Further refining the online self-assessment and linking it to the Efficiency First Job Board so employers and candidates can leverage this tool in the hiring process.

Related SEI Services

- Program Innovation, - Strategic Consulting, - Customized Training, - Curriculum Development