Recruit Lineman on 11/20/09

Employers who are sourcing linemen candidates are invited to participate in Trinidad State Junior College's Job Fair, BBQ, and Line School Rodeo in Colorado Springs on November 20, 2009. For more information on how to get involved, please reference the event poster at this link .

SMA Solar plant to bring hundreds of jobs to Denver

Monday, October 26, 2009
Denver Business Journal - by Cathy Proctor

"SMA Solar Technology AG, the world’s largest manufacturer of a critical component in solar power generation, said Monday it will invest about $20 million in its first North American manufacturing plant — in Denver — expected to open in the first half of 2010.

SMA, based in Niestetal, Germany, manufacturers inverters for solar power systems — the device that converts direct current (DC) electricity, produced by the panels, into alternating current (AC) electricity, which can be used by electrical equipment and sent onto the power grid network. SMA holds about 40 percent of the world’s marketshare for solar panel inverters and manufactures equipment for small, residential-sized systems as well as commercial and large, utility-scale systems...

The company surveyed 10 cities in the United States and chose Denver for its first manufacturing plant outside of Germany — specifically about 180,000 square feet of space at 4701 Havana — due to the building’s access to Interstate 70 and nearby railway lines and the skills of the local workforce, officials said...About 300 jobs are expected initially, with the average wage of $30,000. The company expects that as demand for the inverters grows that the number of jobs could grow to 700 at the plant, Urbon said..." [link to full article]

VESTAS NACELLES, BRIGHTON HOLDS CAREER AND INFORMATION FORUM

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:


VESTAS NACELLES, BRIGHTON HOLDS CAREER AND INFORMATION FORUM FOR WAREHOUSE AND PRODUCTION CAREERS

Brighton, CO, Vestas Nacelles America, Inc the world's leading producer of high-tech wind power systems, kicks off its search for the best employees for their new Nacelle facility being built in Brighton, CO. In August 2008, Vestas announced plans to further expand its U.S. presence by establishing a Nacelle assembly factory and Blade factory in Brighton, Colorado. The Nacelle factory, where vital components of the turbine will be assembled, marks the first Vestas nacelle factory in the U.S.

Vestas has partnered with SOS Staffing to recruit and place the personnel required to staff Vestas’ entire production facility. The recruiting for the hourly production and warehouse positions is underway and hiring will soon begin for people who want to be a part of Vestas and work for an industry leader. All positions being filled for Vestas are full-time, direct hire positions with benefits. Candidates with the abilities, drive and desire to succeed are strongly encouraged to apply.

Vestas, in partnership with SOS Staffing, will host a Career and Information Forum on Thursday, September 24th, 2009 at the Adams County Fairgrounds, 9755 Henderson Road in Brighton, Colorado, The focus of this Career and Information Forum will be on Production and Warehouse positions. Three separate sessions will be held in the Waymire Building (The Dome). The first session will be from 8-10 am, the second from 12 pm – 2 pm and the third session from 6-8 pm. There will be Vestas representatives onsite all day from 8am to 8pm to answer questions and provide information. If you are interested in a career with Vestas, please visit www.sosstaffing.com/vestas and submit your resume or application.
.

For more information:

 Please call an SOS Staffing Branch Office at:
 Fort Lupton 303-857-2358
 Greeley 970-353-2220
 Longmont 303-772-7422
 Ft. Collins 970-282-4401
 Visit www.sosstaffiing.com/vestas to apply online
 Email vestasnac@sosstaffing.com to get updates on current application status.
 PLEASE DO NOT contact Adams County Fairgrounds"

MetroDenverCareers.com launched as resource for career information

"The Metro Denver WIRED Initiative has created MetroDenverCareers.com , a place for students, job seekers, educators and business professionals to learn about and access career resources for some of the region's fastest growing, high-wage, industries - aerospace, bioscience, energy, and information technology-software.

MetroDenverCareers.com includes new career interest brochures that WIRED created in partnership with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. The four brochures contain descriptions and salaries of industry occupations, skills and education needed for each occupation and the places individuals can go to attain the needed skills and education.
In addition to career brochures, MetroDenverCareers.com also features two newly created career interest videos for the aerospace and IT industries and previously created videos for the bioscience and energy industries. The videos showcase the breadth of Colorado companies and jobs found in these industries, and dispel some common myths. One myth that is dismissed is the notion that these industries have jobs available for only certain education levels.

"This site and the brochures, videos and resources it contains does an excellent job of encouraging the development of a home-grown skilled workforce for some of the region's most important industries," said Janice Rooney, corporate relations manager at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory. "I hope anyone considering a career, a job change or looking for information about the industries will take advantage of all that MetroDenverCareers.com has to offer."

About the Metro Denver WIRED InitiativeThe Metro Denver WIRED (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) Initiative is a four-year, $15 million regional workforce development grant from the U.S. Department of Labor. WIRED is developing a pipeline of workers for four of the nine-county Metro Denver region's fastest-growing industries: aerospace, bioscience, energy, and information technology - software.

For more information on WIRED, visit http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2f16747165027e701370&ls=fdec12797267007d721c7371&m=ff02167075660d&l=fe981573756d027f77&s=fdfa15757d67037c75127170&jb=ffcf14&t=.

For details on the national WIRED program, visit http://cl.exct.net/?ju=fe2e16747165027e701371&ls=fdec12797267007d721c7371&m=ff02167075660d&l=fe981573756d027f77&s=fdfa15757d67037c75127170&jb=ffcf14&t=."

Greening of the World of Work

A newly released research report, "Greening of the World of Work: Implications for O*NET-SOC and New and Emerging Occupations," investigates the greening of the world of work. The report looks at the impact of the Green economy on existing occupations and identifies new and emerging green occupations. The report is available in the "Research and Technical Reports" section of the O*NET Resource Center. http://www.onetcenter.org/reports/Green.html

Green Jobs

What is a "green" job? Who knows? A standard definition eludes us. Last year reports were published (at neck breaking speed), each with their own definition, varying statistics, and lofty predictions. So far this year articles and opinions scrutinize the ambiguity of it all, even analyzing how many jobs are displaced for each "green" job created. Vice President Biden defines green jobs as "all those jobs associated with environmental improvement and improving the lives of the American people"1 Very patriotic.

I have been trying to define green jobs for over a year. Each time I think I've decided on a definition (simply remembered as “a job that reduces, reuses or recycles a non-renewable resource”), I come across an occupation or situation that makes me question it.

What about auto mechanic/electrician that works on RTD's light rail cars or a person who abates asbestos--are these green jobs and are they counted in these studies? What about the job that only spends part of the time on "recycling, reusing and reducing"? My job could be considered only about one-quarter of a green job. Is it rounded up to whole job when counted? What about the cashier at Walmart, a behemoth institution that now commands a green supply chain, invests heavily in renewable energy, and set ambitious goals to conserve energy (considering energy is second biggest billion-dollar line item after the cost of labor, the incentives are obvious). Although this cashier’s job has not changed since before their initiatives, is it now considered a “green job”? I say yes. Why not? Some green jobs are completely new without job descriptions written (such as in photonics or algae). Some are already in existence, such as engineers, architects, accountants, sales people, mechanics, and inspectors, and a few of those just have to learn a few new skills.

Unless one is required to count, track, and/or compare the numbers of green jobs, a definition really doesn't matter. What does matter (and is a recurring theme among the published reports) is the trajectory of numbers of jobs is rising and that policy is one of the main drivers for increasing the numbers of "green" jobs in our interdependent, international economy.

Although our cities and states have made their own strides in garnering support for the "New Energy Economy", we are fortunate in this instance to have not been the first movers in implementing aggressive national policy to drive demand for green stuff--we're now able to learn valuable lessons from others, mainly Europe.