Boston will receive nearly $10M for job training in coastal resilience

Boston will receive nearly $10 million in federal funds to train workers for jobs aimed at helping coastal areas better withstand the effects of climate change. City officials said they expect to train about 1,200 workers in construction, emergency preparedness, water utility management, community outreach and other fields related to what’s often called coastal resilience.

Boston Chief of Worker Empowerment Trinh Nguyen said strong job growth in this area is expected as threats from a warming planet increase. For instance, jobs in wastewater and stormwater management are predicted to grow by almost 11,000 in Greater Boston over the next decade, and jobs in municipal infrastructure services are predicted to grow by almost 12,000, Nguyen said.

The training programs were designed to target historically underrepresented communities by providing services like child care, career coaching and training stipends, and ultimately certifications and degrees.

“We want to make sure that the residents who are often overlooked by employers get the opportunity to be trained and then be aligned with direct hiring pipelines for employers,” Nguyen said.

The city initiative was one of nine projects across the country to win funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as part of an effort to build a workforce prepared to confront the effects of climate change. The agency will give $9,799,687 to the Boston Office of Workforce Development over four years to create the Greater Boston Coastal Resilience Jobs Alliance, a coalition of employers, colleges, unions and community groups.

City officials said they will work with employers committed to hiring trained workers. Some of those employers include the Boston Water and Sewer Commission, the Boston Housing Authority, Maven Construction, Suffolk Construction, Essex Horticulture and F&L Landscaping Corporation.

“Climate change accelerates the need for a new generation of skilled workers,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, in a statement. “This major investment in public, private and educational organizations will train workers from around our coasts and help them find good-paying jobs that strengthen climate resilience and local economies.”

Boston has 47 miles of low-lying coastline, much of it densely populated and vulnerable to flooding from storm surges and sea level rise which is increasing with climate change.

According to the most recent National Climate Assessment, coastal sea levels are expected to rise about 11 inches by 2050, about as much as they’ve risen in the last 100 years. As a result, scientists expect coastal flooding will occur five to 10 times more often by 2050 than in 2020.

The country is already seeing more damage from extreme weather, which is also increasing with climate change

“In the 1980s, we saw one billion dollar disaster every four months. Today, we face one every three weeks,” said NOAA’s Deputy Administrator Jainey Bavishi. “It’s a stark reminder of the escalating risks we’re up against.”