Energy Workforce

Principles: DOE’s strategy to support the development, retention and advancement of the energy workforce is driven by 8 core principles. 

1. Use data: Leverage data to shape workforce investments, including on labor market demand and supply, before designing a workforce program or intervention, and measure the effectiveness of workforce programs.
2. Prioritize careers: Prioritize broad occupational training for careers, rather than task training for unique (sometimes short-term) jobs. 
3. Break down silos: Break down silos across the Department’s workforce efforts to avoid investing only on workforce development geared towards specific technologies or narrow tasks. 
4. Boost capacities: Leverage, partner with, and boost the capacity of the existing workforce and education infrastructure, including union-sponsored apprenticeship, pre-apprenticeship, and labor-management partnerships.
5. Incent employers’ role: Use every tool in DOE’s toolbox to incentivize employer commitment to direct hiring, retention, and career pathway strategies. 
6. Prioritize partnerships: Focus on partnerships over standalone programs. 
7. Invest in and support broad access to good quality jobs: Often overlooked in a workforce strategy is the employer's role. DOE works with energy sector to support employer investment in high-quality, effective workforce infrastructure that outlasts any single project or deployment. 
8. Measure, evaluate, adjust: Choose meaningful metrics—then measure early, evaluate often, and make timely adjustments the workforce strategy to meet mission-critical goals. 

Key Activities: Shaped by these principles, DOE supports building and retaining the energy workforce through 5 areas of activities. 

1. Grow good jobs in manufacturing and energy supply chains: Buy America and domestic content provisions, coupled with investments to onshore clean energy manufacturing and supply chains, supports U.S. workers benefiting from the global transition to clean energy. 
2. Invest in workforce education and training initiatives: DOE provides financial assistance to support raising awareness of and scaling skills attainment across a wide range of occupations and industries in the energy sector. 
3. Approach workforce development through high-road sectoral strategies: DOE leads and supports a variety of high road sectoral workforce strategies that advance a coordinated approach to skills, productivity, job quality, and job access.  These initiatives also advance availability and access to Registered Apprenticeship opportunities. 
4. Conduct research and analysis: DOE conducts robust research and analysis on the energy workforce, equipping stakeholders across the energy sector with vital information.