Plan to Zero - Now Hiring (#15)

•  Plan to Zero
• Plan to Zero - Stop! Don't Do That!
• Plan to Zero - Nega-Watts!
• Plan to Zero - Baseload
• Plan to Zero - Made in the USA
• Plan to Zero - Do No Harm
• Plan to Zero - The electric super speed way
• Plan to Zero - Load Growth
• Plan to Zero - Get out of the Way
• Plan to Zero - Power to the People
• Plan to Zero - This means you!
• Plan to Zero - Measure it Right
• Plan to Zero - Figure it Out

If we are going to get to Zero, we need people, likely a couple of million people for 10-15 years and then likely 500,000 to keep what was built running, making upgrades, and keeping it secure.

We need:

Engineers and scientists, as well as project managers, accounting professionals, procurement and quality control specialists. All need the knowledge that comes from a university. The issue is Universities are pricing themselves out of the market. We need to both direct people into needed courses and support them completing the degree.

Technicians and Line workers. Apprentice programs and community colleges work, but there are not enough slots in either to provide the number of workers we need, nor is there any real support for people taking these course. Add to that that K-12 teachers tell people they can’t make a living if they don’t get a college degree. We need to fix the K-12 issues and provide a program that supports people in these study programs.

Laborers who can work with their hands, and do a good days work, for a great day’s pay. Laborers are hard to find, and seldom to they make the money that provides for a living wage for their household. Again, we need to fix this.

We need to:

1)     Create a good forecast of industry job needs that is looking 10 years into the future (Which for college programs means that it age cohort is 8th grade students)

2)     Provide to K-12 teachers real facts on jobs and opportunities, including salaries, and change how Colleges portray non-college job opportunities.

3)     Create a marketing and outreach program for grades 8 and up to offer opportunities to visit companies in the sector to see what the work is.

4)     Buy slots in training and degree programs for students, and then award the slots by need and merit. These slots need to be all inclusive for costs.

5)     Review wages and benefits and find a level that is attractive to people.

6)     Do exit interviews and get regular feedback from both students and workers. Then use that feedback to make programs and jobs better.

If we do this (and likely more) we have a chance to have a large enough workforce, otherwise we will probably need a World War II style draft to complete the work on schedule. Of course we also need the mining, refining, manufacturing and assembling to support the workforce with supplies to install.