Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator Green Jobs Impact Study and Electrification Partnership
HR&A has supported the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) since 2017 to drive investment and strategic partnerships across Los Angeles County to realize its goal of reaching 600,000 green jobs by 2050. HR&A’s collaboration with LACI began with a Green Jobs Study to quantify and characterize the green economy in Los Angeles County, essential for setting workforce goals and strategies.
Simultaneously, we provided strategic support to the Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP), to organize local, regional, and state stakeholders around a series of goals and commitments to accelerate zero emissions transportation. HR&A continues to support LACI through the Green Jobs Regional Partnership, which seeks to develop strategies to ensure the region has the workforce necessary to realize its TEP goals and capitalize on historic investments in the cleantech ecosystem.
Green Jobs Study
There has been a lack of national reporting on green jobs since 2012 due to Federal sequestration. LACI hired HR&A to fill in this information gap and assess the impact of green jobs in Los Angeles County, Southern California, and California. To understand the size and composition of the green economy, HR&A assessed third-party labor data and projected future demand by analyzing market trends and public investment. Further research evaluated the ability of local workforce training programs to support the growth of the green economy, creating a skills-gap analysis. In addition to rigorous data analysis, HR&A led an interdisciplinary Advisory Group, convening top talent from public, private, non-profit, and academic sectors to fill in data gaps, validate findings, and offer feedback on recommendations.
The final report, released in 2021, demonstrates that the green economy is larger than most people think and that policy interventions are required to support the inclusive growth this economy. We found one in twelve jobs is part of the green economy in Los Angeles County and that these jobs are disproportionally held by white people and overwhelmingly by men. HR&A developed policy recommendations to support the growth of green jobs in Los Angeles County and unlock ideas for new training models. We also highlighted equitable development strategies, enabling LACI and workforce development partners to create more inclusive and equitable strategic programming in alignment with market needs.
Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) Support
HR&A also provided strategic support around the evolving transportation industry through management of the initial phase of the Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP). TEP is an unprecedented multiyear partnership of local, regional, and state stakeholders to accelerate transportation electrification and zero emissions goods movement in California in advance of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games through a series of targeted strategies and partner commitments. A series of immersive interviews on the primary barriers to transportation electrification revealed the need for additional funding and financing on both the utility- and customer-side to increase electric vehicle (EV) adoption. Our work culminated in a financing toolkit and a selection of seed funding that could underwrite the financing tools. As part of this funding strategy, the TEP published a $150 billion federal stimulus proposal to Congress urging investment EV manufacturing, EV charging infrastructure, workforce development programs, and entrepreneurship to catalyze the nation’s zero emissions transportation future. HR&A conducted an economic impact analysis on this proposal, estimating that this historic investment would result in 1.4 million jobs. Most of TEP’s recommendations were aligned with those passed in the 2021 IIJA.
Green Jobs Regional Partnership
HR&A is currently working with LACI to facilitate the Green Jobs Regional Partnership, launched in May 2024. This multiyear partnership of workforce development leaders acts on a recommendation from the Green Jobs Report and will result in the development of a roadmap of milestones, targets, and actions to overcome critical challenges in the workforce ecosystem and achieve countywide green jobs goals.
Explore
Read the Full Green Jobs Report
The Emerging Green Economy: Who will Benefit?
Press
As Los Angeles Goes Green, Who Will Benefit? — Los Angeles Daily News
