Agenda & Meeting Summary: December 4, 2024 Workgroup Meeting

Attendees: Annalise Czerny, Cal-ITP; Cristina Marquez, IBEW 569; Heather Regen, Green-Wealth; Isaac Sonnenfeldt, Cal-ITP; Jaimie Huynh, CalEPA; Jana McKinny, CEC; Jason Crow, CARB; Joey Peneman, SMUD; Katherine Dillon, CARB; Kathryn Canepa, CARB; Kathy Saechou, Valley Vision; Lisa Chiladakis, CARB; Marissa Williams, CEC; Marissa Wu, Greenlining Institute; Natalie Reavey, CARB; Nidia Erceg, GO-Biz; Taylor Sieben, GRID Alternatives; Ted Lamm, UC Berkeley, CLEE; Valeria Cantor, GO-Biz; Yvonne Chi, CalEPA

Overview: The ZEV Equity Task Force held a workgroup meeting on December 5, 2024, focusing on how to build equity into workforce development and assessing future needs. The meeting included opening remarks from Yvonne Chi, Deputy Secretary for Equity and Environmental Justice at California Environmental Protection Agency, a presentation on workforce development from Nidia Erceg, ZEV Equity Advocate with the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) followed by in-depth discussion on this topic and ended with a proposal from the California Energy Commission (CEC) on a new project focused on workforce development.

Agenda

  • Welcome & Introductions
  • Remarks from Yvonne Chi, Deputy Secretary for Equity and Environmental Justice, CalEPA
  • Summary of November 2024 ZEV Equity Task Force meeting
  • ZEV Workforce Development in California – Building a Sustainable Future Through Skilled Workforce Development, Nidia Erceg, ZEV Equity Advocate, GO-Biz
  • Workgroup Project Idea and Discussion, Marissa Williams, CEC
  • ibution of ZEVs across California communities
  • Next Steps

Opening Remarks, Yvonne Chi, Deputy Secretary for Equity and Environmental Justice, CalEPA

  • Emphasized that throughout her career, her takeaway from environmental justice communities is that they will no longer be left behind in the technological and economic advancement of California

ZEV Workforce Development in California – Building a Sustainable Future Through Skilled Workforce Development, Nidia Erceg, GO-Biz

  • Purpose: In order to achieve the state’s goals of achieving mainstream consumer awareness of ZEV options and benefits, making ZEVs an affordable and attractive option for drivers, ensuring access to charging and fueling infrastructure for greatly expanded use of ZEVs, and maximizing economic and job opportunities from ZEV technologies, vehicle manufacturing, infrastructure development, maintenance capabilities, and the skilled labor workforce will need to expanded to meet these developments.
  • Key Sectors:
    • Manufacturing and Assembly
      • Building ZEVs in California
    • Battery Technology and Charging Infrastructure
      • Expanding the support network, software engineering
    • Maintenance and Repair
      • Upskilling current automotive workforce
    • Policy and Advocacy
      • Leadership roles for advancing ZEV policies
  • Workforce Challenges in the ZEV transition:
    • Skilled labor shortage
      • Lack of trained professional in ZEV fields
    • Training programs and funding
      • Current gaps in availability
      • Addressing retraining needs for fossil fuel dependent roles
  • Key strategies to ensure equitable workforce development:
    • Targeted outreach from communities that are disproportionately impacted by vehicle emissions, including no and low-income neighborhoods and communities of color
    • Funding and incentives to be allocated to specifically serve these communities, for instance California could expand initiatives like the Transformative Communities programs, which channels funding to community led projects in high need areas
    • Work with ZEV employers to create inclusive hiring practices and diversity benchmarks and publicly supported companies that prioritize hiring from underrepresented communities
  • Just transition strategies:
    • “Just Transition” refers to integrated policy approaches offering protection, support, and compensation for displaced workers and communities in specific industries or regions
      • In this case, workers and communities disproportionally impacted by the shift to ZEVs.
    • Just transition programs can offer resources for both immediate short0term assistance to workers and communities directly affected and long-term assistance while they “retool” and adapt to a carbon-neutral economy
    • Strategies:
      • Centering equity in access to ZEVs
      • Supporting workers in transition industries
      • Equity in policy designs and funding

Questions for Workgroup Participants

  1. How do we prepare for a just transition?
    International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) spoke about their apprenticeship programs in which they provide joint labor and management apprenticeships. Additionally, they have programs that take in formerly incarcerated people, veterans, etc. They specifically called out their work in the Imperial Valley where they created trusts to fund apprenticeships for ZEV mechanics and battery manufacturing
  2. What’s your take on the pathways to develop a skilled workforce?
  3. How can workforce demand and supply be balanced?
    Participants highlighted challenges in answering this question given that there is a gap in jobs data. The CEC also highlighted that they are in the process of doing a needs assessment for infrastructure workforce.
  4. Anything else?

Participants had questions for how to engage other agencies in this work, which is in process. Participants suggested bringing in City and County representatives to connect regions with high schools and community colleges that may be able to bring about private partnerships too. Participants highlighted the need to imbue labor standards in ZEV jobs to include healthcare and living wages and that small businesses needed technical assistance. If you would like copies of Nidia’s slides or have any additional thoughts on any of these questions, please reach out to Nidia Erceg at nidea.erceg@gobiz.ca.gov.

 CEC Project Idea, Marissa Williams

The CEC suggested that a workgroup could take an inventory of existing ZEV workforce development and training programs in the state and develop a public-friendly dashboard with critical information on such programs. The ZEV Equity Task Force workgroup could determine appropriate data fields, contribute to compiling the catalog of programs, help design and launch a webpage/dashboard, and develop a plan for upkeep/maintenance of the data.

Next Steps

  • The next workgroup meeting is from 10-11 a.m. on January 9, 2025.  Please REGISTER

Contact Us

·      For further information or to provide feedback, please contact: ZEVEquity@arb.ca.gov 

Links/Resources:


Return to ZEV Equity Task Force web page