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Our Cleantech future faces a big hurdle: We don’t have enough talent.

The move away from fossil fuels will require one billion new appliances and cars to hit the market. And The Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests more than 80,000 new electricians are needed every year to keep up with the “electrify everything” movement.

Cleaner, more sustainable energy options means big opportunities for job creation, said Cleantech entrepreneur Bill Nussey, who is now Partner at Engage and Tech Square Ventures.

“More than perhaps any other industry in history, [Clean Energy] requires every kind of job. Skilled labor, unskilled labor, union labor, and trade labor. It requires tons of PhDs from the best schools in the world, and it requires entrepreneurs that have the craziest longest [vision]. There has never been an industry where more diverse talent has been called for to be successful,” Nussey said during a recent Cleantech meetup in Atlanta.

Photo from the ATL Cleantech Connect Social held last week in Midtown, Atlanta

Making The Transition

So is Georgia’s workforce ready for this transition to Cleantech?

Local startups like EnviroSpark are already on the case.

The fast-growing and venture-backed EV charging station startup in Atlanta has rolled out its Apprenticeship Program. The program is designed to help train employees on installing, maintaining, and repairing systems for our EV-heavy future.

Longstanding organizations are also working to ensure that the region has a strong Cleantech workforce.

On the manufacturing font, Georgia Quick Start provides customized job training opportunities around clean energy manufacturing. That has helped the state become a hub for solar, battery, and EV companies.

Organizations like Goodwill are also looking to help build a more resilient and sustainable workforce.

The nonprofit, in partnership with professional services giant Accenture, just announced the launch of The Goodwill Clean Tech Infrastructure…