Western New York’s First-Ever Sustainability Workforce Training Center Will Expand Clean Energy Training to Help Workers Meet Industry Needs
Builds on Governor’s Efforts to Prepare New York’s Workforce for the Green Economy and Other 21st Century Sectors
See Renderings of SWTC Center Here
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the groundbreaking for People United for Sustainable Housing’s new 2,500-square-foot Sustainability Workforce Training Center in West Buffalo. Stemming from the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, New York’s nation-leading climate agenda, creation of the region’s first green jobs training facility will further PUSH Buffalo’s mission to help meet climate and energy standards while also increasing access to clean energy-related job training and opportunities for members of minority and underserved communities. PUSH expects that once the SWTC opens, the number of its green workforce training program graduates will at least double, from a current annual total of 48 people to at least 96. Renderings of the new facility are available here.
“As Western New York welcomes sustainable, 21st century businesses to the region, PUSH Buffalo’s new training center will help to ensure that workers in the area are ready to meet their needs and fill the green jobs of tomorrow,” Governor Hochul said. “Building a modern economy means building a modern workforce, and my administration is committed to investing in institutions like PUSH Buffalo that share our mission of strengthening our talent pipeline, unlocking opportunities for countless New Yorkers, and creating a brighter economic future for our state.”
PUSH Buffalo Executive Director and Vice-President of BNSC Dawn Wells-Clyburn said, “Today’s groundbreaking for the Sustainability Workforce Training Center represents a new day for our beloved community. The training center offers unprecedented access to opportunity for Black, Indigenous, People of Color, and Disadvantaged Communities – to be leaders in building an advanced green and climate-resilient community, and to earn competitive wages for their skilled labor. Our communities’ populations have historically been shut out of green technology jobs and green job training. The training center brings us closer to a more just, equitable, and sustainable future for all. This is truly a game-changer.”
Built on two vacant lots at 169 Arkansas Street and 298 Hampshire Street, the $2.5 million project will provide a mix of flexible classroom, office and meeting spaces. The building is designed to generate as much energy as it uses through an on-site PV solar system and a geothermal heating/cooling system, which will also serve as a learning laboratory for renewable energy training sessions. The SWTC will be the new home of the Community Hiring Hall, originally established in 2014 in PUSH Buffalo’s current location.
PUSH Buffalo’s Community Hiring Hall trains and places workers in the renewable energy sector, as well as serves as the employer-of-record and assumes responsibility for workforce recruitment, screening, hiring, management, and administration. The Community Hiring Hall plays a critical role in training Buffalo’s low-income residents that are under and unemployed, with an emphasis on marginalized communities of color. Trainees are matched with contractors to help in building relationships that will support long-term workforce development. To date, more than 224 of the Hiring Hall’s former trainees have been employed by companies across Western New York.
The new SWTC will expand and improve the Hiring Hall’s green workforce training, allowing hands-on training for the installation of clean heat technologies, solar and other renewable energy technology, or energy efficiency upgrades that would address and improve energy conservation in much of Buffalo’s housing stock.
Empire State Development has committed more than $1.64 million to the project, including $1.2 million through a Western New York Workforce Development Challenge grant through Buffalo Billion II and $445,000 through a Regional Council Capital Fund grant. PUSH Buffalo also received a $137,817 grant from NYSERDA for the project.
The groundbreaking on PUSH Buffalo’s training center comes as Western New York welcomes several new clean energy businesses to the region. In October 2022, the Governor announced an agreement with Electrovaya to create its first U.S. plant, a lithium-ion battery manufacturing facility, in the Town of Ellicott in Chautauqua County, creating 250 new jobs. In May, the Governor announced an agreement with Cummins Inc. to invest $452 million at its Jamestown facility to leverage a range of lower carbon fuel types and creating 90 new jobs. Governor Hochul also announced the winners of the ninth annual 43North Finals, New York State’s $5 million startup competition held in Buffalo, which included Stepwise, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based business that will relocate to Buffalo to work on home electrification while future-proofing the electric grid.
Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Hope Knight said, “As Western New York’s first green jobs training facility, the SWTC will build on PUSH Buffalo’s established workforce development program in the rapidly growing renewable energy and green construction trades. The center’s focus on residents from marginalized communities will encourage and broaden access to jobs and sustainable career paths that will support families now and for the future.”
NYSERDA President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “NYSERDA is proud to support PUSH Buffalo’s workforce training center which incorporates critical energy efficiency, electrification and renewable energy upgrades in the building. This project demonstrates how economic development and community resilience efforts can complement each other while at the same time creating healthy and comfortable space for workers in Western New York to prepare for clean energy jobs in the state’s growing green economy.”
State Senator Tim Kennedy said, “With the region’s first green jobs training facility, PUSH Buffalo is taking a much-needed step to develop a green workforce and establish Western New York as a leader in the renewable energy and climate resiliency industries, which will make the region competitive as it attracts green companies and projects. I applaud Governor Hochul and PUSH Buffalo for their support of the SWTC.”
Assemblymember Jon D. Rivera said, “The opening of PUSH Buffalo’s new Sustainability Workforce Training Center is further proof of New York’s unwavering commitment toward a greener, more equitable economy. This one-of-a-kind green jobs training facility will move our state toward reaching its ambitious environmental protection targets, while also investing in marginalized communities most under threat from the damaging effects of a warming climate. I want to thank Governor Hochul for her continued advocacy for a greener, more sustainable New York, and I look forward to how the new SWTC will improve the efficiency of our city’s energy output.”
About PUSH Buffalo
Founded in 2005, PUSH Buffalo is a member-based community organization in West Buffalo. The mission of PUSH Buffalo is to mobilize residents to create strong neighborhoods with quality, affordable housing; to expand local hiring opportunities; and to advance racial, economic, and environmental justice in Buffalo. PUSH’s members are the community organizers who make affordable housing a reality in Buffalo. Its members work with partners and funders to create a healthy, just and strong city that includes community control of resources, living wage jobs and access to quality education, healthcare and transportation.