The Green Careers Accelerator Includes Paid Internships, Applied Learning Experiences, and Career Exposure and Networking

Brooklyn, NY – Today, the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) launched the Green Careers Accelerator program to catalyze the development of job pathways in the clean technology sector for New Yorkers. The comprehensive program will place students in paid internships, provide applied learning experiences, and engage program participants in meaningful career development and networking opportunities.

“The Green Careers Accelerator builds on the Yard’s history as a site of innovation and equality. The program will create quality job opportunities for historically underrepresented populations while catalyzing a talent pipeline that provides critical onramps in clean energy tech and helps applicable businesses meet their growing workforce needs,” said Lindsay Greene, President and CEO, Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. “We are grateful to Con Edison for their support and look forward to working in partnership to close clean sector skills and opportunity gaps. The program is part of the broader evolution of our mission to expand training facilities centered on partnerships with community organizations, workforce providers, industry experts and labor leaders to ensure we are working together to ready New York City’s next generation of skilled workers who anchor the middle class.”

“Con Edison is proud to invest in the Green Careers Accelerator program,” said Hilary Ayala, Director of Charitable Giving, Con Edison. “Creating supportive pathways for students to build successful careers in clean energy, benefits each student, their families, communities and New York.”

BNYDC’s Green Careers Accelerator aims to close critical skill and opportunity gaps that continue to grow across the clean energy sector. The program will provide critical on-ramps for underrepresented college students to build their knowledge of green career pathways, hone their technical skills, build professional networks, and take the first steps toward securing future high-quality employment in the clean energy sector.

The new year-round program focuses on students who otherwise might not receive the career exposure experience or paid internships, a critical step into employment post-college. Specifically, the program components are:

• Paid Internships
  Interested college students will be eligible to participate in paid internships with clean energy companies with the BNY ecosystem. During the internship, students will gain the industry knowledge and skills, professional networks, and work experience needed to launch careers in the growing clean energy sector. Students are also provided with career readiness support, including resume development, interview preparedness, and job search support.
• Career Exposure Experiences
  The Green Careers Accelerator will also provide career exposure experiences, such as engaging workshops, roundtable discussions and panels with entrepreneurs and professionals, and connections to the diverse opportunities within the clean energy sector, increasing students’ awareness and interest in specific green energy roles. In turn, this helps to ensure a steady supply of qualified professionals to fill the growing demand of the renewable energy sector.
• Applied Learning Experiences
  The Accelerator programming will also include opportunities for firsthand learning and problem-solving around our city’s biggest green issues during hackathons and innovation challenges, which provide an environment for students to apply their theoretical, classroom-based knowledge to practical real-world scenarios. Spurring creativity and ingenuity, these experiences help students learn what it means to innovate in this fast-evolving industry.

Despite notable gains in the clean energy sector and future workforce demand, there remains a growing skill gap needed to fill these specialized roles. A study conducted by the International Renewable Energy Agency found that nearly 80% of all energy companies surveyed cited having difficulty in recruiting employees with the technical skills needed to fill current and future clean energy roles. Compounding this challenge is a severe lack of diversity in the clean energy sector, with white non-Hispanic workers making up 61% of the workforce and Black workers representing just 8% of the workforce (compared to 13% of the overall U.S. labor force).

The Yard’s Green Accelerator program complements the City of New York’s Green Economy Action Plan, a robust, multi-year strategy to make New York City the global capital of research, development, prototyping and manufacturing of climate technology.

Visit the BNYDC’s website to learn more about Workforce Development programs.

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About the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation

The Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation (BNYDC) is a not-for-profit corporation that serves as the real estate developer and property manager of the Yard on behalf of its owner, the City of New York. BNYDC’s mission is to fuel New York City’s economic vitality by creating and preserving quality jobs, growing the City’s modern industrial sector and its businesses, and connecting the local community with the economic opportunity and resources of the Yard. BNYDC’s vision is a vibrant and dense, modern manufacturing community where businesses are provided the stability needed to invest, grow, and thrive and where diverse candidates can attain quality jobs. brooklynnavyyard.org/