Southwestern Pennsylvania stands at the threshold of a generational opportunity. As the global economy responds to the climate crisis and advances in clean energy innovation, our region is strategically positioned to compete on a global scale—if stakeholders align shared values, goals, and investments.
At Sustainable Pittsburgh, we believe this transformation begins with our key partners. Since 2021, the Clean Energy Workforce Roundtable has brought together hundreds of employers, educators, community-based organizations, labor leaders, and government partners to create an inclusive, coordinated clean energy workforce ecosystem across the 10-county region.
This work is part of our broader mission to position Southwestern Pennsylvania—Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, and beyond—as a national and global model for sustainable, equitable economic growth.
Why Pittsburgh and Why Now?
Findings from the Clean Energy Workforce Roundtable demonstrate that our region is positioned for a stronger, more resilient future. The 2024 report, Clean Energy Workforce Needs and Opportunities for Southwestern Pennsylvania, identifies priority sectors such as energy efficiency, electrification, construction, and advanced manufacturing that are poised for rapid growth with sustained regional support.
More importantly, these sectors represent accessible career paths for workers with a range of educational and professional backgrounds. However, opportunity alone is not enough. If we are going to lead in clean energy, we must act deliberately and collaboratively. Among the Roundtable’s top recommendations:
- Build sector-based training partnerships among employers, education providers, workforce boards, and unions.
- Embed equity and inclusion into every stage of the workforce pipeline.
- Develop blended funding models across public, private, and philanthropic sectors to scale training, apprenticeships, and job placement efforts.
- Support wraparound services like childcare, transit, and mentorship to remove persistent barriers to workforce entry.
These recommendations directly align with the insights of local stakeholders and broader regional research on clean energy development, including recent work by RMI.
Finding Regional Alignment
The Heinz Foundation, in conjunction with research firm RMI, has gathered data and released findings that support the need for regional alignment towards building a strong clean energy workforce ecosystem (detailed here: Developing Cleantech Clusters in Southwestern Pennsylvania).
The RMI report underscores the need for stronger regional coordination and shared infrastructure to support a thriving clean energy economy. Among its key recommendations is the establishment of a short-term, regional effort to explore how a cleantech cluster initiative could take shape, including identifying core functions, testing models, and eventually determining a permanent home for the effort. Five priority functions are identified for a cleantech cluster initiative:
- Align stakeholders on a regional cleantech plan
- Connect regional stakeholders across sectors
- Conduct analysis to support location branding and competitive positioning
- Coordinate the lab-to-market ecosystem to improve innovation flow
- Augment business attraction, retention, and expansion efforts
These functions would require the collaborative involvement of diverse stakeholders including economic development organizations, universities, workforce developers, businesses, startup incubators, planning bodies, and community-based organizations to succeed.
These helpful insights reflect the very challenges Sustainable Pittsburgh’s Clean Energy Workforce Roundtable has been working to address since its inception. The Roundtable brings together essential partners focused on advancing solutions, and serves as a platform for collaboration that helps break down silos, share best practices, and elevate strategies that are inclusive, actionable, and grounded in the lived experiences of workers and communities.
The Road Ahead: Vision Meets Opportunity
The RMI report identifies three priority sectors where the region has a comparative advantage:
- Battery Manufacturing and Recycling
- Solar Component Manufacturing
- Green Buildings and Related Technologies
These findings reinforce existing efforts of Sustainable Pittsburgh’s Clean Energy Workforce Roundtable, which has focused on building pathways into precisely these areas through regional coordination, workforce equity, and strategic visibility.
An integral project of the Roundtable’s work, the Future Energy Career Maps platform, was built to address the barriers identified in the RMI report: limited awareness of opportunities, fragmented training pathways, and unclear routes into emerging careers. The Career Maps (which currently highlight the construction and advanced manufacturing sectors) provide a clear, interactive pathway for job seekers to explore and pursue future potential in clean energy careers. The platform showcases real, achievable roles, local training providers, job requirements, expected salaries, and advancement opportunities.
The Future Energy Career Maps directly align with the talent pipelines needed in the three identified cleantech sectors:
- Battery Manufacturing and Recycling
We have identified training and career pathways in CNC machining and machinery maintenance which directly support the technical skillsets needed in advanced battery production and equipment operation. The maps highlight clear on-ramps into these jobs without requiring a four-year degree. - Solar Component Manufacturing
The manufacturing map features roles such as (metal) fabricator and (electronics) assembler, all of which feed directly into solar component supply chains. - Green Buildings and Related Technologies
The construction map showcases a range of energy-smart careers like building analyst, building/home performance crew leader, solar installer, HVAC technician, and weatherization technician. These roles are critical for both new green construction and retrofitting existing infrastructure—two major drivers of job creation in the region’s building sector.
By demystifying career pathways, highlighting accessible training, and focusing on local relevance, the Career Maps themselves serve as a regional coordination tool by connecting job seekers, educators, and employers around a shared clean energy vision.
The RMI report validates the strategies the Roundtable has championed: breaking down silos, creating tools for workforce alignment, and prioritizing sectors where our region can lead. But it also makes clear that this work must scale—and that it will take intentional, coordinated action across the ecosystem to ensure the full potential of these opportunities is realized.
Sustainable Pittsburgh is committed to advancing that alignment and continuing to build the connectivity needed to support a thriving, equitable clean energy workforce in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
A Path Forward Together
As our region continues to evolve, the opportunity to grow a clean energy workforce that reflects our shared values has never been more clear. Southwestern Pennsylvania is rich with potential, from its history, industry, and innovation, to its people, partnerships, and purpose.
Sustainable Pittsburgh’s Clean Energy Workforce Roundtable is one of many efforts helping to shape this transition by bringing together diverse voices across sectors and geographies. We are dedicated to building a future where more residents see themselves in the clean energy economy and feel supported in the journey to get there.
We believe in a region that thrives economically, advances environmental sustainability, and ensures that opportunity reaches every community.
This shared vision was recently echoed in a joint op-ed by Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato and Heinz Endowments President Chris DeCardy. In their message, they affirm the importance of building a clean-technology future grounded in collaboration, equity and economic renewal. Their call to action reinforces the momentum we’re seeing across the region and strengthens our collective resolve to work together toward a stronger, more environmentally and economically sustainable region (read the full op-ed here).
Looking ahead, we’ll continue listening, learning, and collaborating—helping to create a clean energy workforce ecosystem that:
- Reflects the unique needs and aspirations of our communities
- Connects jobseekers to meaningful, family-sustaining careers
- Builds a foundation for long-term investment and regional growth
Southwestern Pennsylvania has what it takes to forge a better future, for all. Let’s keep building the bridges that carry us there.
If you would like to take the next step, you can join in the work of the Clean Energy Workforce Roundtable by emailing John Ukenye, Senior Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives, at jukenye@sustainablepittsburgh.org
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