Program leaders follow news on public and private investments in various companies or technologies to gain insights into the possible future direction of industries that might impact the employment options of learners who complete their programs.  

• For example, in 2024, global investments in green technologies decreased, including venture capital and private equity investments. Meanwhile investments in U.S. climate tech startups held steady, in large part due to policy initiatives such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).¹ Data like this can help program leads understand the various factors impacting the stability of an industry on both a macro and micro scale. 
• Data on investment trends is available through resources such as Grants.gov, the Clean Investment Monitor, and the Big Green Machine.  

Program leaders follow news on how industries are faring not only locally but also nationally and globally, perhaps with an eye toward understanding how their region’s role in a global supply chain may be impacted by developments elsewhere. 

• For example, 1.3 million electric vehicles (EV) were sold in 2024—accounting for around 8.7% of new car sales that year.² That increase was driven in part by new governmental EV incentives, price cuts, and an increase in the number of EV models being released globally.³ This type of information would be valuable to training and education providers in regions where a significant number of people work for employers focused on activities like manufacturing EV batteries or maintaining EV charging stations.   
• Sales data for industries that are part of the green economy is available through resources like the Short-term Energy Outlook (STEO) forecast from the U.S. Department of Energy; the U.S. Energy Information Administration, which offers state level data; and IEA’s Energy End-Uses and Efficiency Indicators database. 

Program leaders follow news on legislative, presidential, gubernatorial, and mayoral priorities that impact specific industries, in part to understand if there may be potential workforce funding aligned to those industries. 

• For example, some states, including Vermont, are setting new goals for utilities to achieve 100% clean energy usage by a set year. Others, such as Massachusetts, are attempting to accelerate clean energy deployment through permitting reform.⁴ Program leads will watch closely to see how those goals may also accelerate the speed at which industries will need to expand or upskill their workforces. 
• Data on policy priorities is available through a number of sources, including city or county websites, local workforce development boards, the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD), the C2ES Policy Hub, the EPA’s state renewable energy policies website, and the State Energy Legislation Database maintained by the National Conference of State Legislatures.  

Program leaders watch for changes in regulations that may accelerate or curb the speed at which employers in an industry may expand or cut back their operations in a particular region.  

• For example, roughly 15% of counties nationwide have implemented some sort of limitation—outright bans, zoning restrictions, specialized land-use rules, or moratoriums pending new regulations—on the development of new utility-scale wind and solar energy operations.⁵ Information like this could spur program leaders to cancel energy-related training programs or diversify their current curriculum to ensure that students gain skills that they’re able to use in multiple energy-related occupations.  
• Information about regulatory trends affecting the green economy is available from various sources, including state public utility commissions, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and groups such as the National Clean Energy Workforce Alliance. 

• To learn about projects in your region funded by the Inflation Reduction Act or the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, visit this interactive map from Grist. 
• To learn more about policy and investment trends impacting renewable energies, read the Deloitte report titled 2025 Renewable Energy Industry Outlook. 
• To learn more about opportunities to secure state funding that supplements support available via the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), visit https://liheapch.acf.hhs.gov/Supplements/suppintro.htm. 

1. What organizations, such as trade associations and other industry groups, are already compiling information on public- and private-sector investments? How can we most effectively engage with them?  
2. Which resources are we regularly relying on to determine our next steps? What elements factor into our “go / no-go” decision making process? How do we ensure that these factors are regularly reviewed? 
3. What is the administrative burden associated with efforts to secure various types of funding? How can we build our capacity to handle that burden, which might include reporting and compliance activities? 
4. What resources (equipment, physical space, curriculum, and recruiting capacity, for example) do we need to create a program from the ground up? How might we approach partnering with other organizations in our region to access stable or complementary sources of funding?

1. What elements of our program can—or perhaps should be—shifted and redesigned to account for changes in funding priorities? How can our programs remain nimble while maintaining the integrity of training for learners? 
2. How do we diversify our funding strategy and build our capacity to engage with multiple types of funders if need be?  
3. What new relationships might we need to form, particularly to account for policy shifts and regulatory changes? How will these be maintained to avoid gaps in staff turnover? 
4. From a strategic point of view, what organizations should we forge long-term relationships with, even if there are no new sources of funding available? In the absence of new funding opportunities, how do we develop meaningful partnerships that might inform our future work?