Illinois is experiencing substantial job growth in the clean energy industry. With the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) workforce programs starting, what do the programs need to understand about the clean energy workforce needs and assets of their region? How can unions, workforce training programs, employers, and communities better understand and prepare for clean energy job growth?
The Climate Jobs Institute created regional data packets to support the launch of the CEJA workforce programs and clean energy workforce planning more generally. These data packets can help union labor, workforce training programs, state agencies, community colleges, and local governments plan for growth in the clean energy sector.
Data packets are separated into the ten Illinois Economic Development Regions, shown in the map on the right. Access the data packets here:
While jobs numbers and clean energy project development are evolving all the time, these packets are an initial attempt to pull together multiple data sources to answer the following questions:
- How many existing clean energy jobs are in each region, by type?
- How many construction apprentices are in each region?
- How many clean energy training programs and apprenticeship programs are in each region?
- What clean energy employers and unions are based in each region?
- How much planned or anticipated solar and wind installation is expected in each region? What are the workforce needs for these projects?
- Which regions will see job loss from fossil fuel plant and coal mine closures, and how many jobs will be lost?
About the Illinois Economic Development Regions
Illinois’ ten Economic Development Regions were established to implement federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) programming. The Economic Development Regions coordinate workforce development activities, service delivery, and resources throughout local areas in the regions. Regions are required to develop regional Economic Development Plans every 4 years to plan for workforce development, education and training, and business growth across the region. Though the CEJA programs are not funded through federal WIOA dollars, clean energy workforce development should ideally be integrated into regions’ larger workforce development and plans. We hope these data packets will help with this integration.
About the Data
The Clean Energy Regional Data Packets were created by staff at the Illinois Climate Jobs Institute, based on a number of different data sources. The packets were last edited December 2024. The Climate Jobs Institute will update the data packets on an annual basis, including more clean energy jobs data as it is available.
The following data sources were used:
- US Energy Employment Report 2024 county clean jobs data.
- US Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Database System (RAPIDS)
- CEJA Illinois Map for locations of training programs, apprenticeship programs, and employers.
- CEJA list of awarded workforce programs, last updated summer 2024.
- Illinois Community College Board Directory of Programs
- Illinois Board of Higher Education Program Inventory
- Illinois Commerce Commission Certified Solar DG Installers, EV Charging Station Installers, and Energy Efficiency Installers.
- Illinois Shines and Solar for All Program Approved Vendors
- Labor Union regional maps for key labor unions involved in the clean energy transition
- Illinois Solar Map for installed and planned solar from November 2024 (with data from the Illinois Power Agency and US Energy Information Agency). Note that new applications for planned solar are submitted all the time.
- Climate Jobs Institute Electric Power Capacity Map, with data from the U.S. Energy Information Agency.
- Electric Vehicle Registration Information from Illinois Secretary of State
- Plant and Mine Closure data from Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
Questions, corrections, or suggestions? Please reach out to climate-jobs@illinois.edu.
