Commissioner Timothy Simon of the California Public Utilities Commission visited Marin City on Tuesday, August 30th to meet with a group of public officials, community leaders, and representatives from community organizations. The purpose of the meeting, which was hosted by the Marin City Community Develop Corporation (MCCDC), was to discuss energy efficiency and how green jobs provide education and training opportunities for unemployed or low-income individuals.
The Commissioner, who is a member of California Green Collar Jobs Council, was taken on a tour of several sites around Marin City where workers are currently receiving on-the-job training for green jobs. The group visited a site where the installation of a solar-powered water heating system was taking place. Four of the workers on the site were clients of Marin City Community Develop Corporation receiving advanced on-the-job training while working alongside a professional crew from San Rafael based Sun First Solar.
Simon was then taken to a public building where youth were performing weatherization improvements at Marin Housing Authority public housing sites. MCCDC youth trainees, themselves public housing residents, have made energy improvements to nearly 200 housing units since last year, according to Client Services Director, Andrew Abou Jaoude. MCCDC’s supervisor worked with the youth to install hot water blankets, put in weather stripping and outfit light fixtures with energy efficient bulbs, as well as performing other improvements. "We wanted to give him a picture of what Marin City is and where we want to go," Abou Jaoude said. "He saw that we were doing a good job, that the youth were learning and that we were making public housing more energy efficient." These energy efficiency measures are the first step in a long-term plan that will incorporate more advanced energy saving techniques.
There was also a round-table discussion that included Marin County Supervisor Kathrin Sears, representatives from government agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and local organizations such as Marin Community Foundation and Marin Employment Connection. The commissioner spoke about job training for low-income residents throughout
the state of California and areas of Marin County specifically, according to Director of Programs for MCCDC Monique Perkins. "He feels some of the funding that has been identified through his office should be used for job training to connect low-income workers to some of the opportunities in the green industry," she said.
Perkins said that the MCCDC hopes that the Public Utilities Commission will be able to connect with organizations such as the Marin City Community Develop Corporation that already work with low-income and underemployed workers by providing funding and facilitating networking with companies that offer training in green jobs. "Their influence is far reaching," she said.
Executive Director of the MCCDC, Makini Hassan, said she hoped Tuesday's meeting renewed interest and support for job training programs throughout the county. "He [the Commissioner] was able to see our projects in action by public housing residents working in their own community."
For a complete list of attendees of this important event, click here
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