Gas and coal workers could soon see themselves in a predicament of unemployment soon if action is not taken to retrain in another field. The way things are going, it won’t be too long before the world has completed its transition to 100 percent renewable energy sources, and when this happens, what’s going to happen to all the innocent gas and coal workers if they don’t start learning another trade?
It’s worrying times at the moment for workers in these industries as more and more gas and coal plants are closed across the country. Although many workers will agree that the shift to renewable energy sources is the way to go in order to protect ourselves and our environment, but many will still be worrying how they are going to pay the bills moving forward. These times are particularly tough on coal workers as even the world’s largest provider, Peabody Energy, went bankrupt this year. And, the gas industry will not be too far behind.
But, one industry that is growing at a phenomenal rate and will continue to do so is the solar energy industry. The number of workers employed in the solar energy industry in the U.S. as of November 2015 was over 208,000. This is already more employees than the whole of the coal industry at the moment, so is clear to see where the trend is going. One solution to the onset of unemployment caused by the demise of the gas and coal industries is to retrain all those workers in the solar energy sector.
If gas and coal workers were to use their current expertise and skill set to apply to learning solar energy roles, they could see on average a pay rise of around 11%. The pay in the solar energy business is much more attractive than in the gas or coal industries, even at the lowest level. There would obviously be a certain amount of retraining involved, which would vary from role to role, but if the government were to step in and lend a helping hand then this is an issue that could be solved quite easily.
Estimates suggest that it would cost between $180 million to $1.8 billion (based on best and worst case scenarios) in retraining all gas and coal workers in the solar energy industry. If all the funds were not able to be raised by the government then plans could be put in place where individuals could fund their own training, or coal and gas companies could fund it before laying their workers off, or individual states could offer coal to solar transition programs.
But, it is important that people are proactive, even during the most difficult times. There is no harm in seeking out training for yourself instead of waiting for it to happen. It is always best to be prepared, and with the knowledge that renewable energy sources are in and fossil fuels are out, it may be time to take action now.
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