Denver will pay for people to learn skills that might help the city stay cool and cut its climate-warming emissions.
On Tuesday, the city launched a $2,500 rebate to help cover training programs — such as certifications in urban forestry or EV maintenance — for anyone who lives, works or attends a college or trade school in the city.
To qualify, applicants must complete a course from the city's list of pre-approved programs. Most cost less than $2,500, and applicants can use the full amount to pay for multiple certifications, courses and exams.
“There's a lot of work that we will need to do to invest in our buildings, and there's also additional funding that's really coming available,” said Elizabeth Babcock, the executive director of Denver’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability & Resiliency. “The skilled workforce is really catching up with that demand.”
The rebates are an attempt to shore up expected gaps in Colorado’s climate workforce. An analysis published by the Colorado Energy Office late last year identified 20 “climate critical” occupations necessary to cut planet-warming emissions over the next decade. Almost all the jobs with the largest forecasted shortfalls are skilled trades, such as electricians, construction workers and wind turbine technicians.
A similar 2023 analysis sponsored by Xcel Energy and Denver focused on Colorado’s Front Range. To meet expected demand for all-electric heating and cooling systems, the report estimates the region must increase its HVAC workforce by 23% per year to reach around 3,500 technicians by 2035.
Denver will help pay for HVAC training and jobs related to its climate goals. Its pre-approved programs include courses in building energy efficiency, compost operations and heat pump installation. Another program promises a certification in building systems that deliver laundry water to gardens and lawns.
The city is paying for the grants through its Climate Protection Fund, a pool of money funded by a 0.25% sales tax approved by voters in 2020. Since then, the city has used the revenue to offer its highly popular e-bike rebates and cover some recreation center parking lots with solar panels.
While the e-bike program has generated no shortage of headlines, Denver remains far off track for its most ambitious climate goal: zero planet-warming emissions by 2040. Last year, Mayor Mike Johnston acknowledged the city would miss its first benchmark by failing to cut emissions 40% below 2019 levels by last year. The city will release an updated five-year plan in November detailing how it will catch up with its emissions targets, Babcock said.
Meanwhile, the mayor has directed more attention to short-term goals to expand green spaces and install climate-friendly infrastructure such as solar panels, heat pumps and EV chargers.
Babcock said rebates for job training will support all those goals. That’s why the city’s climate office has dedicated $930,000 for the program this year.
“We will learn a lot from this year and make adjustments for future budget cycles if needed,” Babcock said.
