The offshore wind industry is growing in Massachusetts, and needs a highly skilled, safe and equitable workforce to help achieve our state’s climate goals. This is a rare opportunity to build a workforce in which traditionally marginalized populations are not left out. An offshore wind project requires a trained workforce during its construction and maintenance phases, cumulatively lasting decades. This creates stable, exciting employment opportunities for young people. If we don’t approach this opportunity thoughtfully, we may unintentionally overlook the needs of youth and people of color in our communities.
STEAM the Streets, a career inspiration and outreach organization, received an Offshore Wind Works grant from the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to apply its proven model of education and outreach to this opportunity. With the funds, STEAM the Streets aims to help build a diverse pipeline of offshore wind workers by producing unique, high quality educational videos, content, and performances that will boost interest, engagement and awareness of offshore wind career opportunities. Utilizing STEAM the Streets’ approach of creating relatable, authentic, and culturally relevant media, the content is designed to inspire underrepresented students to start their career journey in offshore wind.
Three videos produced by STEAM the Streets will be made available to local education institutions as a curriculum resource and motivational tool for their students. The project’s educational partner, Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology (BFCIT), advised on video scripts. BFCIT has committed to using the videos within their Renewable Energy program, as well as for student recruitment. The content will also live inside the STEAM the Streets App as an Offshore Wind career module, highlighting the many career opportunities in the industry and offering free resources for students to build relevant skills on their career journeys.
In addition, these multimedia materials will be deployed in STEAM the Streets’ school assembly shows and will be available for integration with the curricula of middle schools, high schools and post-secondary educational institutions. They can also be marketed through social media posts, websites, career fairs, and engagement events.
The three videos are of varying lengths, and each have their own unique purpose.
- The first video is a 2-minute sizzle reel entitled “Why Offshore Wind?”. It’s a bite-sized video that can be utilized by educators, industry partners, and the community alike to get folks excited about being a part of the industry.
- The second video is a 5-minute career profile featuring Cassie Brown, a project engineer for Vineyard Wind. This story shows what the industry is like from a humanistic perspective, and shares Cassie’s career path.
- The third video is a 10-minute deep dive into the industry, hosted by STEAM the Streets’ co-founder and educator Angel Diaz, aka DJ Anghelli. He takes the audience on a master class through the three phases of wind farm development and provides a road map to start on a wind-related career path.
The videos, career module for the STEAM the Streets’ App, and wind school assembly show are slated to be released in January 2025. For more information, reach out to Director Ben Gilbarg at Ben@steamthestreets.org.