New King County program helps young adults start careers in clean energy

A new King County workforce program aims to help young people from underrepresented communities pursue careers that contribute to a cleaner, healthier King County—and it’s already seeing results.

Operated through the King County Executive Climate Office (ECO) in partnership with the King County Department of Community and Human Services, JumpStart works with local training partners and contractors to connect participants with the programs and pre-apprenticeships they need to begin careers in clean energy and the skilled trades.

“My long-term dream is to be an electrician, and this is for sure helping me get there,” JumpStart graduate Matthew Rodriguez said. “I’m getting hours, I’m around electricians every day, I’m learning new things every day, and I’m getting better every day.”

Rodriguez completed the JumpStart program start to finish. After completing training through Seattle Central College’s Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training (PACT) program, JumpStart organizers connected him with local contractor Puget Sound Solar for 240 hours of paid, work-based learning. During that time, King County JumpStart staff helped him through the process with job readiness skills and mentorship. They also offered workshops on clean energy, climate and preparing for work-based learning. By the end of the program, Puget Sound Solar offered Rodriguez a job with the local business.

King County JumpStart Lead Case Manager NeeCee Davis supports participants throughout that process, helping them navigate challenges and working to build their confidence. She says seeing them get that full-time job offer is a huge moment.

“It really makes you feel amazing,” Davis said. “It makes you appreciate coming to work every day – you help a student change their life, start their career, and it’s a really amazing feeling.”

King County launched the program in 2024 as a sectoral partnership with funding from the Washington Jobs Initiative. A report by the US Department of Energy showed that in 2023, jobs in clean energy grew at more than twice the rate of the strong overall US labor market.

King County JumpStart addresses the need for a skilled workforce to help the region reach King County’s clean energy goals, and works to ensure frontline communities – those most likely to be impacted by the effects of climate change – have access to these opportunities.

“There’s a lot of money especially in this region coming down [for the clean energy transition], and I think it’s really important as that funding is coming down to make sure there’s equitable access to economic opportunity,” King County JumpStart program manager Dani Hurula said.

Local business Puget Sound Solar signed on as one of the first contractors with the program and has hired on two graduates so far, including Rodriguez.

“We’ve been looking for workforce development opportunities and chances to partner with people for a long time, and JumpStart was really the first one we met that was putting a program in action,” Puget Sound Solar General Manager Will Sumner said.

“We have amazing jobs here, we pay people well and we looked at our staff four or five years ago and said, our staff does not reflect the diversity of the area we’re in, near Rainier and Dearborn in South Seattle,” Sumner said. “Let’s [let more people know about these] living-wage jobs in clean energy.”

Training partners are a crucial component of the program. Along with Seattle Central College’s PACT program, King County works with the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle’s Career Bridge, Emerald Cities Collaborative Northwest’s HVAC Prep Academy, and YouthCare’s Seattle YouthBuild and is growing to include more training partnerships. Along with training, many of them bring deep-rooted, trailblazing experience to the program.

PACT, for example, began in 1998 with a mission to increase access to trades roles for women and people of color in the Central District. PACT instructor Derek Jones says along with the training and certificates graduates receive, they also build a network and join a community of alumni who’ve overcome similar challenges to get to where they are.

“I was in their shoes at one point,” Jones said. “I grew up in this neighborhood and I didn’t know anybody who was in the trades, so once I got to start working with people and I got into this field I thought, it’s my responsibility to get you into this work. Let me hold your hand through it because once I wished I had somebody who did that for me.”

Jones primarily works with students on job readiness skills, such as interview and resume preparation and building up confidence to succeed in the professional world. Instructor Sean Seals teaches tools and materials, blueprint reading, nutrition and fitness, and construction building.

“I actually was in their position at one point in time, and it changed my life and the trajectory of everything I ended up becoming,” Seals said. “In the program I work with, around 80 percent of PACT graduates leave with a job, and others now transfer into the JumpStart program.”

Because King County JumpStart covers the costs of work-based learning with partner employers and liability insurance, there is less risk for the small businesses taking a chance on someone new to the field. Graduates, meanwhile, have a support base in JumpStart staff as they begin the new chapter.

“Do it- don’t even think, just do it,” JumpStart graduate Rodriguez says to prospective applicants. “It’ll be better for you, and it’s a generational thing- it’ll be [good] for your family to see you do this, and especially if you have kids, you can show them [this path], that they can do it.”

Since the program launched in summer of 2024, 83 percent of participants have graduated from training and work-based learning, and more than half of them have received a full-time job offer from the contractor who hosted their paid work-based learning. To date, 86 percent of participants have identified as Black or Latino.

JumpStart is made possible through partnerships with the City of Seattle, CleanTech Alliance, Career Connect Washington, Washington Employment Security Department, Washington Student Achievement Council and Coalition for Climate Careers.

To learn more or join the program as a contractor or participant, click here.

King County JumpStart operates within the “Climate and Workforce” division of the King County Executive Climate Office (ECO). The division is dedicated to implementing programs and strategic initiatives to connect frontline communities with living wage career opportunities, building a climate-informed, skilled, and diverse workforce in King County. The initiatives led by the Climate and Workforce team include the NextGen Climate Internship Program, the Green Skills Development Fund, and the development of green career pathways within County departments. Additionally, the team facilitates policy recommendations and outreach and engagement events to promote the green economy within frontline communities.

“JumpStart is a catalyst and resource for King County to build workforce partnerships and business/contractor relationships to accelerate the economic benefit of climate action for our region,” King County Climate and Workforce Manager Michael Carter said. “While much of the language around climate action focuses on combatting the crisis, Jumpstart focuses on the opportunities for careers with excellent wages possible because of this inevitable transition.”