The Greater Washington Green Jobs Corps works to help meet the demand for skilled workers to provide services in the clean energy economy in the Washington Metropolitan area. According to a report by PERI recently completed with the Center for American Progress, building a clean-energy economy will become a powerful engine of expanding employment opportunities throughout the U.S. economy. Clean-energy investments at the level of about $150 billion per year—i.e. around one percent of U.S. GDP—can generate about 1.7 million net new jobs throughout the U.S. economy.

As the demand for workers increases, there is a need to attract a new wave of workers in the energy and utility industries.

According to the latest data from the Census Bureau, about 200,000 adults living in the District of Columbia -- 51 percent of residents over age 25 -- lack a postsecondary degree.

The Greater Washington Green Jobs Corps works to connect DC Metropolitan residents that face barriers to employment to green job training programs, and prepares young adults from low-income communities in the Greater Washington area for green-collar careers.

With a rising national unemployment rate and a faltering economy, there are not too many sectors that are predicted to see growth besides the green sector. The global market for green and sustainable products and services will double by 2020, growing from $1.37 trillion per year to $2.74 trillion per year. Half of this market will be in the energy sector.

The unemployment rate in the DC Metro area is higher than the National average. This economic crisis chips at the viability of the the area's unemployment benefits resources and public assistance services. With more blue-collar workers out of work, there is a need to train people to meet the demand of a growing green economy.

Increasingly, we are seeing more and more families struggling including middle class families across America. The need for more green training in sustainable services like weatherization and solar energy in order to dramatically cut energy usage and costs for these struggling families has never been greater.