Earlier this fall, Advance CTE partnered with MDRC to convene a national summit focused on preparing learners for the future green workforce through high-quality Career Technical Education (CTE).
Over two days of collaborative discussions, state, local, and national leaders refined recommendations to strengthen environmentally literate, sustainability-minded career pathways. These conversations led to the development of a policy playbook for education and workforce leaders nationwide to consider how they can continue to develop green workforce pathways in their own context and connect with others to build an economy that represents the needs of the present and future. MDRC is also releasing a companion document in the coming weeks.
With the release of Advance CTE’s green workforce policy playbook, Seeing Green: CTE as a Catalyst for the Green Workforce, we are revisiting some of the topics of those conversations in this Question & Answer blog, featuring MDRC’s Rachel Rosen and Advance CTE’s Dan Hinderliter.
Rachel is the director of MDRC’s Center for Effective Career and Technical Education, where she leads efforts to generate and share rigorous evidence that strengthens CTE policy and practice nationwide. She currently co-leads an evaluation of dual enrollment across three southern states as part of the National Rural Higher Education Research Center, and serves as Co-PI on an analysis of the scaling of NYC’s Future Ready NYC and Career Ready Modern Youth Apprenticeship programs. She has also been studying and writing about the intersection of CTE and the climate and green energy economy since 2019.
As associate director of state policy at Advance CTE, Dan supports states through technical assistance, research, and policy development that strengthen and modernize Career Technical Education. His work spans managing national grants, advancing environmental literacy in CTE, and helping shape resources like the National Career Clusters Framework.
What are “green jobs,” and how should we define them?
Rachel: This is both a daunting and exciting question. Green jobs are not limited to traditional environmental roles; they include occupations across every industry and rethinking how work intersects with the reality of a resource-constrained planet. It’s about reimagining how our economy operates within ecological limits and adapting existing roles to achieve sustainable impact.
Dan: It’s also empowering. Concepts like “reduce, reuse, recycle” have been around for decades, yet we’re still teaching them because they’re essential. There’s a deep foundation of shared knowledge and experience of both CTE and environmental educators that we can build on. The green workforce isn’t entirely new – it’s the next evolution of work we already understand, and we now have the opportunity to scale that knowledge in meaningful ways through CTE.
With changes in national economic trends, why is now an essential moment for CTE to meet the needs of the green workforce?
Rachel: Momentum in the clean energy transition extends far beyond the U.S. Globally, investment in clean energy and transportation is accelerating, essentially because renewable energy, especially solar, is now among the cheapest power sources worldwide. That shift is already underway and will continue regardless of political changes. Today’s ninth graders will graduate in 2029 into a fundamentally different and hard-to-predict landscape. Choosing not to prepare for that reality would be short-sighted and harmful to both learners and communities.
Dan: At its core, Career Technical Education exists to meet the evolving needs of the labor market while preparing learners for careers aligned with their interests and real opportunities. That role is more crucial than ever as the green economy continues to grow and change rapidly. CTE has a unique opportunity to serve as the critical bridge between employers and education systems. If CTE is not actively responding to emerging green careers, we risk doing learners a disservice by limiting their access to future-forward opportunities.
What are some recommendations for states and regions looking to expand green workforce pathways for emerging and existing sectors?
Dan: Our policy playbook has a lot of great recommendations, and I recommend people dive into that resource. But many states, districts, and employers are unaware of the breadth of available resources and experts in this space. A critical first step is identifying and leveraging the people and organizations who can drive the work forward. In Delaware, for example, early efforts around sustainability and literacy were slowed by a lack of connections, simply because it took years to find the right partners and start meaningful conversations across systems. CTE is already ripe for connection and collaboration; people just need to know where to start looking.
Rachel: One of the biggest takeaways from national convenings is the importance of ecosystem mapping, understanding who the employers are, what community colleges and K-12 programs are offering, who wants to lead the work, and where the gaps in cross-sector connections and communication truly exist. That “landscape lens” is essential. Even when federal momentum slows, progress can and does continue at the state, regional, and local levels. The work doesn’t stop – it simply shifts where it happens.
What strategies can local districts use to advance green CTE pathways?
Rachel: Intermediaries are a key strategy. These organizations specialize in connecting employers with school districts and supporting the creation of CTE pathways – many with a focus on clean energy or environmental careers. These relationships work best as a two-way street: if districts or community colleges express interest and demand, intermediaries often already have the infrastructure to help bring partnerships to life.
Dan: Local programs are providing compelling examples of driving direct, visible impact. CTE programs that center on environmental impacts can show how industry directly affects local water quality, agriculture, school energy savings, and community health. These hyper-local connections resonate with learners and families. Local school districts are also well-positioned to demonstrate how skills transfer across Career Clusters®, showing learners how various components of green careers connect. Successful local pilots can later be scaled into statewide strategies.
Why are labor market data and high-quality research so important to this work?
Rachel: There’s already a substantial body of research showing that CTE improves learner outcomes – including postsecondary success and access to higher-wage jobs. We don’t need to reinvent the wheel; we need to apply what we know works to develop pathways toward these careers. Labor market alignment is also embedded in Perkins V [the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, as amended by the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act], and it’s essential for building strong employer relationships, quality internships, and meaningful work-based learning that directly connects learners to future careers.
Dan: At Advance CTE, we focus heavily on “case-making” to help decision-makers understand the value of high-quality programs. For the green workforce, this includes showing how CTE programs create both economic and environmental value. Shared data and research help partners speak a common language about outcomes and impact. Strong evidence builds confidence and supports the expansion of high-quality, high-value green programs.
What types of partnerships are most critical for building effective green workforce and CTE systems, and why?
Dan: Whatever the partnership, learners must be at the center. We need to better understand why learners are choosing specific career pathways and what impact those experiences have on their lives. The groups forming a coalition to shape this work also need to reflect the geography and demographics of the communities and industries they serve. When voices who represent different backgrounds, contexts, and interests are intentionally connected to the green workforce conversation, programs become more relevant and impactful.
Rachel: This work requires strong connective tissue between state and local CTE leaders, K–12 and community college educators, employers, and workforce partners. Environmental and labor organizations also play critical roles. We’re seeing increased engagement from utility companies and energy providers who recognize that the workforce of the future requires new approaches to education and hiring. Employers and educators don’t always speak the same language, so creating intentional spaces for communication is essential, along with stronger corporate responsibility and accountability.
Where can people go for more information and resources?
Dan: Well, our policy playbook for one! It has a lot of great information about how to bring together the right resources and partners to start moving in a collective direction. We have a “Green in CTE” resource repository that is open access. But right now, beyond our resources, there’s no single centralized hub devoted solely to green CTE – but there should be. Federal agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) offer extensive educational materials, and many employer associations provide industry-specific resources. What’s needed most is a sustained, cross-sector convening body that helps people find each other and share tools more efficiently.
Rachel: Many practitioners feel isolated in their workforce ecosystems because these efforts are still emerging. There’s a real need for ongoing, national spaces where people can continue these conversations, learn from one another, and build momentum. Groups like ours [Advance CTE and MDRC] have organized convenings such as the summit this fall and the earlier series of virtual roundtables we co-sponsored to bring people together, yet these tend to be one-off events, and the field would benefit greatly from consistent, long-term collaboration structures.
Interested in learning more about the connections between CTE, emerging sectors, and the green workforce? Check out the relevant resources below:
Advance CTE Resources
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Seeing Green: CTE as a Catalyst for the Green Workforce – a 2025 policy playbook
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Emerging Sectors, Responsive Career Pathways: Bridging Education and Industry – a 2025 report
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Integrating Environmental Literacy into Career Pathways: A Delaware Case Study – a 2025 case study
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The Green Workforce in the National Career Clusters Framework – a 2024 brief
MDRC Resources
