About Empower Kingston PAID Green Jobs Training Program

This Kingston-based paid program places trainees with local employers for four weeks of hands-on work experience and mentoring, rotating among different worksites, where trainees will receive training in home air-sealing and weatherization, solar panel installation, heat pumps, and geothermal energy systems, indoor air quality, and energy auditing.

2024 Sessions:

Session 1: July 8 - August 2
Session 2: September 16 - October 11

Apply!

Hear from previous Empower Trainees about the program!

Jaevon (Fall 2023)

“Empower Kingston set me up for success by giving me the chance to meet and connect with local contractors and helping me find job opportunities”

Natasha (Fall 2023)

“During Empower Kingston, I got to experience working with genuine kind hearted people that actually wanted to teach me these hands on skills”

Howard (Summer 2023)

“What benefited me the most about Empower Kingston was the ability to jump straight into a career path after graduating high school with no experience”

Our Partners

The Empower Kingston Green Jobs Program pairs local clean energy employers with individuals seeking to learn new skills in one of the fastest-growing job sectors. New York State had 157,700 clean energy workers at the end of 2020, representing 12% workforce growth since 2015.

SunCommon

See what it’s like to work as an Empower Kingston trainee!

Suncommon is a solar installation company located in Kingston. You’ll learn how to…

Become familiar with the equipment, schedule, and workflow at a solar company
Work on, move, and install ground and roof mods
Assemble solar energy panels, arrays, and supporting structures

Energy Conservation Services

Energy Conservation Services is a company specializing in building science services located in Port Ewen. You’ll learn how to…

Work with small crews, admin, and customers at various homes and buildings
Work hands on air sealing attics, basements, and crawl spaces
Use equipment such as a blower door test and cellulose machine

J’s Painting

J’s Painting is a sustainable construction company located in Kingston New York. You’ll learn how to…

Work with a variety of crew members on different types of homes and buildings
Use hand tools and power tools safely to build decks, paint, repoint bricks
Install wood walls, ceilings, windows, sheetrock, siding, closed and open cell spray foam

Eli’s Hammer

Eli’s Hammer is a sustainable construction company located in Kingston New York. You’ll learn how to…

Work with a variety of crew members on different types of homes and buildings
Use hand tools and power tools safely to build decks, paint, repoint bricks
Install wood walls, ceilings, windows, sheetrock, siding, closed and open cell spray foam

History

On September 8, 2020, Citizens for Local Power (CLP) welcomed eight interns to launch the first Empower Kingston Green Jobs Internship Program. CLP has held additional Empower Kingston sessions in 2021, 2022, and 2023.

The diverse group of interns in the first program came from Kingston, New Paltz, Rhinebeck, and Saugerties. Thanks to the group of committed local contractors and specialists who showed them the ropes at their worksites and in online classes, each intern received a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore the burgeoning field. For four weeks, the interns experienced different facets of our fast-changing energy system, spending three days a week working on job sites with a local contractor and two days attending classes.

Local contractors Anthony Aebi (Greenhill Contracting), Joe McDole (J’S Painting Service), building analyst Judith Karpova, and Marie Mazzucco (SunCommon) worked with CLP to plan the program. Scott and Marie Arnold (RYCOR) and Joe Gentile (Capitol Electric) joined them to provide onsite working experience in their specialties.

The interns earned $15/hour for their onsite and classroom work. They each received tools and steel-toed boots for protection. An anonymous donor provided funding for the pilot program.

At the end of the program, having gotten a solid overview of the field, the interns moved on to decide their next steps, with the advice and support of Ulster County, the Green Careers Academy at SUNY Ulster, BOCES, and Cornell Cooperative Extension.

"Having the opportunity to rotate with several contractors enabled us to get a broad-ranging experience and was useful for discovering the right area of Green Jobs to work in," an intern said.

Since 2020, Empower Kingston has welcomed over 55 trainees. Most recently, Empower Kingston 2023 hosted Summer and Fall sessions with 25 green jobs alumni. The program is currently funded by Ulster County and the NoVo Foundation.