The Apollo Alliance offers an excellent approach to building green pathways out of poverty. Its elements include: 1) Enacting policies and programs to drive investment in the clean energy economy to create a more energy efficient, sustainable Ohio and assist Ohio energy consumers; 2) Aligning these economic development strategies with workforce training programs and promoting on-the-job training opportunities when using public funds for clean energy projects, in order to build a training pipeline of highly-skilled workers trained in sustainable practices and fields; and 3) Preparing low-skilled workers for these opportunities, particularly women and minority workers, by helping to reduce existing barriers to attaining quality jobs.

Ohio has made progress on all three prongs of the Apollo Pathways Model, enacting a number of foundational polices and programs: adopting renewable energy and energy efficiency standards our electric utilities must comply with; creating the Green Pathways Advisory Council to bring together employers engaging in the clean energy economy, labor and community leaders, and agency officials to align clean energy economic development efforts with workforce training goals; and growing the network of apprenticeship prep programs. The report documents Ohio’s progress and makes recommendations for building on these policies and programs to ensure continued gains towards achieving the maximum benefits to our communities, our workforce and our environment.

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Appendix 1 - Ohio’s Clean Energy Strategy (to date)

Appendix 2 - Ohio’s Effort to Align Economic and Workforce Development Goals

Appendix 3 -  Jobs that will build the green U.S. economy and fight global warming

Appendix 4 - Best Practices in Best-Value Contracting (across states)

Appendix 5 - Model Responsible Bidder Workforce Standards

Appendix 6 - Ohio’s Constructing Futures Initiative

Appendix 7 - Existing Workforce Development Resources that should be investigated as a source of support for the Constructing Futures initiative to create green pathways out poverty

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