Clean Jobs Workforce Network Program
Clean Jobs Curriculum Framework
12 | Clean Jobs Curriculum Framework
• Identify and leverage strengths in diverse participants and build on those strengths. Consciously
acknowledge all sexes, genders, and ethnicities in educational settings. Positively affirm
contributions and inquire about relevant personal experience.
• Use supportive communication that frames participants as members of a professional
community (the clean energy industry), not just a participant in a program.
• Validate participants’ self-worth, inherent ability, and creativity to help counter “imposter
syndrome” and respond positively and affirmatively to their internal questions, “Am I supposed
to be here?” “Do I belong here?” “Can I be successful here?”
• Strengthen the voices of underrepresented groups by participating in meaningful engagement,
problem-solving, and empowerment with participants who have not historically had power in
the current environment (the clean energy industry).
Training
• Encourage participants to incorporate their current body of knowledge and utilize their lived
experiences and personal expertise to achieve personal success.
• Recognize, welcome, and elevate participant contributions in the training room, worksite, and
program environment as a whole.
• Develop genuine and quality relationships between and among all levels of staff and program
participants. Encourage mutual trust.
• Show participants how their cultural values, current knowledge, and experiences are
transferable and reflected in the clean energy industry. Tell relatable stories during training.
• Intentionally communicate positive cultural and social messages regarding their career choice in
the clean energy industry and emphasize the value of participants’ contributions to the
industry.
• Be willing to discuss and address difficult/taboo topics and work to find equitable solutions.
Acknowledge in the curriculum, among staff, and on worksites the environmental and historical
factors that impact underrepresented groups.
• Eliminate exclusionary practices within the learning environment and on worksites (for example,
negatively singling out participants, overlooking or ignoring certain participants, verbally
insulting or marginalizing membership in certain groups, or otherwise discounting participants).
• Provide additional instruction, coaching, mentoring, and sponsorship, as needed, for individuals
who require supplementary or different supports to be successful.
• Represent diverse cultures in instructional materials and curricula, in physical spaces, and in
online and print materials.
• Proactively and equitably share insights and wisdom, as well as influence and power, with all
participants to develop skills, confidence, and leadership. Be aware of the ways some groups
may be inadvertently singled out (for example, choosing a male to serve as a team leader for all
group projects).
• Provide participants with multiple ways to demonstrate knowledge and capability. Not all ways
of learning and means of assessment have been a significant part of everyone’s educational
background.
• Through work-based learning opportunities or mentorships, connect participants with
employers from R3 and/or EJ communities and businesses that are certified through the
Business Enterprise Program
to help participants feel a sense of belonging within the industry.