Clean Energy Freedom

Funding is there for clean energy, but the workers are not. The clean energy industry estimates that we could need as many as 1 million skilled trade workers in the coming years thanks to historic public investments. And the U.S. needs to grow interest to meet the growing demand for these jobs. CEF is working to propel the United States toward energy independence by helping recruit and develop a new generation of clean energy workers as diverse as the nation those workers serve.

We partnered with Clean Energy Freedom and FiveStone to address the critical challenge that while funding exists for clean energy infrastructure, the skilled trade workers needed for implementation are not readily available. Through comprehensive research including expert interviews, focus groups, and follow-up interviews, we discovered that clean energy jobs offer exceptional opportunities within the skilled trades sector—featuring good pay, solid benefits, clear career paths, and upward mobility training. Our research uncovered that while the value proposition for clean energy jobs is clear, workers aren't exploring the field due to lack of understanding, skepticism of green initiatives, and persistent stigma around trade work. We identified four key career inflection points that create openness to new paths and developed messaging strategies focused on positive, locally-relevant benefits across three core categories. The insights revealed that workers respond best to messaging emphasizing individual value and local opportunities, helping propel the United States toward energy independence by recruiting and developing a diverse new generation of clean energy workers.