The Challenge: Expand equitable access to career and business opportunities in climate-critical fields
The Massachusetts clean energy workforce will need to grow by 38%, or more than 38,000 workers by 2030 to meet the state’s climate goals. Many of these jobs will be well-paying, with median wages of over $36 per hour, in 2023 dollars. A robust, well-trained, and inclusive workforce is vital to achieving and sustaining the Commonwealth’s climate goals. Organizations that deliver career awareness, training, or business support programs can ensure that Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs), fossil fuel workers, and individuals from Environmental Justice (EJ) Neighborhoods, low-income communities, or federally recognized or state-acknowledged tribes benefit from equitable access to climate-critical workforce opportunities. However, delivering such programs requires planning and resources that these organizations may not have.
About Equity Workforce Planning and Capacity Grants
Equity Workforce Planning and Capacity Grants provide up to $50,000 for up to 12 months for the development a program plan ready for implementation or up to $150,000 for up to two years for capacity building (expanding staff, solidifying essential partnerships, developing curriculum, expanding supportive services) to start or expand a clean energy equity workforce program.
In addition to direct funding, planning and capacity grantees receive technical assistance support from MassCEC to facilitate targeted networking, expanded partnerships, stronger program design, and effective practices for achieving outcomes.
Applicants may focus programming on one or more of the following categories:
- Strand A: Career Pathway Training Leading to Employment in Climate-Critical Priority Occupations
- Strand B: Clean Energy Career Awareness, Career Exploration, and Preparedness for Adult Learners and Job Seekers
- Strand C: Development of a MWBE Support Program leading to the creation or expansion of MWBEs in Climate-Critical Fields
$50,000 for Planning; $150,000 for Capacity
May 19, 2025
Priority Deadlines:
- 1st Priority Deadline: Dec 6, 2024
- 2nd Priority Deadline: Feb 28, 2025
Funding Schedule
Applications for the Equity Workforce Planning and Capacity Grants are accepted on a rolling basis. Applications submitted by the listed priority review dates will be reviewed on a more expedited timeline.
Process Step |
Timing |
---|---|
RFP Release |
Oct 9, 2024 |
Questions Due to MassCEC via rfpworkforce@masscec.com |
Ongoing |
Questions with Answers Posted to MassCEC Website |
Ongoing |
Pre-Application Webinar |
Oct 23, 2024 at 12 pm |
Pre-Application Office Hours |
See dates and times |
Applications Due |
Final deadline: May 19, 2025 Priority deadlines:
|
Priority Review at MassCEC |
Applications received by:
|
Interviews of Applicants (as needed) |
TBD |
Notification of Award |
Approximately 6-8 weeks after submission |
Who's Eligible
Single organizations or partnerships are eligible to apply. If multiple parties are applying jointly, one party should take on the role of Lead Applicant.
The following entities are eligible to serve as a Lead Applicant:
- Community-based entities (often referred to as community-based organizations) such as community action partnerships, environmental justice organizations, neighborhood revitalization organizations, advocacy groups, affordable housing providers, affordable housing developers, and non-profits.
- Post-secondary educational institutions, K-12 School Districts, Comprehensive and Vocational High Schools, Middle schools, and Vocational Schools offering a Career Technical Initiative evening program.
- For-profit entities such as for-profit training companies, trade associations, unions, or other coalitions of businesses and clean energy businesses.
- Federally Recognized and State-Acknowledged Tribes.
- Workforce Development Organizations, Non-Profit and For-Profit.
- Massachusetts Workforce Investment Boards and Career Centers/Mass Hire Organizations.
Applicants previously funded by MassCEC may apply so long as the proposed work is sufficiently distinct and does not lead to the same work being funded.
Applicants that have already received equity workforce planning grants may apply for a capacity grant to execute preliminary work related to future implementations.
Apply
Application Process
To apply:
- Review the Equity Workforce Training Planning and Capacity Grant Request For Proposals (RFP).
- Review all RFP forms and attachments.
- Attend MassCEC informational webinars and/or use other informational resources offered.
- Contact MassCEC with questions or to discuss your ideas via at rfpworkforce@masscec.com.
- Complete all RFP forms and attachments according to instructions.
- Submit all completed RFP forms and attachments by email to rfpworkforce@masscec.com upon completion and before 11:59 pm on May 19, 2025, with “Equity Workforce Planning/Capacity Grant Application” in the subject line.
For full Program details, please refer to the RFP.
Application Materials
Send completed application to rfpworkforce@masscec.com
Pre-Application Office Hours
MassCEC hosts a series of office hours (one-hour blocks) to answer questions about all open Workforce Development grant opportunities. Join anytime during the one-hour block!
Pre-Application Webinar
On October 23, 2024 MassCEC held a pre-application webinar for the 2025 Equity Workforce Planning and Capacity funding opportunity. The webinar addressed eligibility, budget, and the application process.
Frequently Asked Questions
These FAQs were last updated on October 9, 2024.
Questions are accepted and answers will be posted on a rolling basis. Submit questions to rfpworkforce@masscec.com.
Other Resources
MassCEC will look favorably on applications that propose data-driven approaches and leverage pre-existing resources from the robust workforce development and clean energy sectors in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Applicants are advised to use the following and additional resources to inform their applications:
Labor Statistics
Clean Energy Sector
Job Training & Workforce Development
Commonwealth Corporation Available Funding Opportunities
MassHire Regional Workforce Skills Planning Initiative
MassHire State Workforce Board
MA Division of Apprentice Standards
The Boston Foundation SkilWorks Project Catapult on next generation workforce development
Small Business Enterprises/MWBEs
Partnerships
MassCEC compiles a list of potential applicants interested in forming partnerships for the open Workforce Equity grants. Sign up for this list by filling out this form. The list will be published on the MassCEC website and updated periodically.
In addition, you can sign up for MassCEC newsletters about Workforce news and Workforce funding.
Recent Planning and Capacity Grant Projects
Round 1 Grantee
All In Energy is developing career pathways for multilingual individuals from EJ neighborhoods to become energy auditors, these pathways involve placement in customer-facing roles at Mass Save programs to give participants the resources and time needed to train to become energy auditors.
Round 2 Grantee
Apprentice Learning is developing a multi-year plan to integrate awareness of climate-critical career pathways and real-world learning experiences into its curricula and programming for in-school and out-of-school time activities targeted middle-school youth in Boston’s low-income and environmental justice communities.
Round 1 Grantee
Automotive Careers Development Center (ACDC) is expanding existing hybrid and EV training programs to recruit and train individuals working in the fossil fuel industry from EJ Neighborhoods across the state to work in and service those communities.
Round 1 Grantee
Browning the Green Space (BGS) is exploring pathways for formerly incarcerated citizens in Boston to receive training and support needed to enter high-performance building retrofits sector, exploring partnerships and solutions that reduce the barriers faced by those with CORI issues.
Round 1 Grantee
Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (CSNDC) is exploring career pathways with employer partners for formerly incarcerated citizens to enter the high-performance building retrofits sector, with emphasis on accommodating CORIs.
Round 1 Grantee
Greenfield Community College is developing a co-op model with employer partners throughout Franklin and Hampshire Counties to train workers in fossil fuel industries and individuals in EJ neighborhoods to transition to clean energy job alternatives in the high-performance retrofits sector.
Round 1 Grantee
GreenRoots Chelsea is exploring training a wide range of people of color, workers in the fossil fuel industry, and youth from Chelsea and East Boston to enter the clean energy sector locally in careers related to solar energy and microgrids.
Round 1 Grantee
Groundwork Lawrence Technical School is developing a customized multi-year training program to train residents of Lawrence and other Merrimack Valley EJ Neighborhoods to enter careers in the high-performance retrofits sector.
Round 1 Grantee
Julius Education is developing and deploying a Massachusetts Green Buildings Accelerator Plan that can be deployed across EJ Neighborhoods statewide, providing residents with career navigation to better understand career pathways, access foundational training, and enter curated workforce and educational pathways.
Round 1 Grantee
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is exploring the expansion of LISC’s existing weatherization training program, Bridges to Green jobs, which provides training for participants from EJ Neighborhoods to become weatherization technicians. Also exploring the addition of an entry-level heat pump tech training.
Round 2 Grantee
Madison Park Technical Vocational High School is partnering with Career Champions Network to implement recommendations from the school’s Clean Energy Task Force, generate a career exploration initiative for students, and develop a plan for an after-hours adult training program for clean energy sector occupations.
Round 2 Grantee
Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges (MACC) is conducting a needs assessment and gap analysis on training for entry to mid-level climate critical careers to inform the execution of programs in Massachusetts’ community colleges.
Round 1 Grantee
Massachusetts Climate Action Network (MCAN) is researching the components of an incumbent worker training program that meet the training needs of black and indigenous people of color (BIPOC) for new entrants and established workers with a focus on occupations in HVAC and building electrification.
Round 1 Grantee
MassHire North Shore Workforce Board is developing a regional equitable workforce training plan and training programs leading to jobs in the offshore wind industry supply chain and other parts of the blue economy.
Round 2 Grantee
New England Women in Energy and the Environment (NEWIEE) is developing a fellowship program that seeks to train women in various climate critical occupations, matching selected individuals with companies/organizations operating in the clean energy industry, and will establish partnerships with organizations who will assist in diversifying recruitment processes to engage more women of color in the program and provide mentorship and support services throughout the fellowship.
Round 2 Grantee
Northeast Home Energy Ratings System Alliance (NEHERS) is hiring a technical director to expand their existing HERS Rater Trainings to include mentorship and training for Rating Field Inspectors (RFIs) and HERS Modelers as an apprenticeship-equivalent pathway into the industry, specifically targeting underrepresented demographics.
Round 1 Grantee
People Acting in Community Endeavors, Inc. (PACE) is connecting the most underserved individuals in New Bedford and neighboring EJ communities that may be missed by traditional workforce approaches by addressing their skills gaps to prepare them to work in the growing Offshore Wind Industry.
Round 1 Grantee
Roads Consulting Group is creating a plan to design secure business recruitment pathways for Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises in low-income and Environmental Justice designated communities to enter the clean energy industry.
Round 1 Grantee
Roxbury Community College is developing a heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC-R) program for people of color and EJ neighborhoods.
Round 2 Grantee
The Studio for High-Performance Design and Construction (StudioHPDC) will create a plan to train carpentry instructors in the high-performance buildings sector at vocational/technical schools in Environmental Justice Communities.
Round 1 Grantee
Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts (SBN) is developing the SBN Workforce Diversity Program that will support diversifying the solar industry with a focus on EJ neighborhoods. SBN will focus on occupations in project development, sales and marketing, operations, and maintenance.
Round 1 Grantee
Transform Power Systems (formerly, Nordee Enterprises) is providing individuals in Hyde Park and Mattapan-based high schools exposure to clean energy jobs through specialization workshops at local technical school, colleges and neighborhoods associations.
Round 1 Grantee
Tremco CPG Inc is exploring the expansion and upskilling of the Rising Stars trades program hosted at Madison Park Vocational Technical School to include high-performance retrofit training and placement pathways.
Round 2 Grantee
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is developing a building energy system training program to provide training to underrepresented individuals, focusing on energy-efficient HVAC systems.
Additional Funding Opportunities
EmPower Massachusetts
- $150,000 (Implementation)
- $25,000 (in some cases up to $50,000) (Innovation and Capacity Building)
Innovation and Capacity Building: Open
Implementation: Open
Request for Proposals: Equity Workforce Training, Equipment & Infrastructure
Career Pathway Training: $1,200,000; Career Awareness: $600,000; Equipment & Infrastructure: $750,000
Not currently accepting applications
Technical Trades Work and Learning Program for Employers
$8,640 per intern