SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 03, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WGU Labs, an affiliate of Western Governors University (WGU), has invested in Julius, a social impact company with the mission to solve the talent needs of the rapidly transitioning clean energy industry by providing inclusive solutions to start and grow green careers.
The engagement will utilize WGU Labs’s supportive ecosystem to accelerate Julius’s scale and impact on the green workforce through research and go-to-market enhancement activities to improve the distribution and adoption of their solutions into the labor market at scale. This partnership enables the creation of inclusive pathways for diverse job seekers to start and grow green careers.
Industry research and reports show that there will be nine million new green jobs by 2032, but even today, approximately 88% of energy companies already struggle to hire talent for these positions. Adding to this challenge, companies in green industries often have a significant underrepresentation of women and people of color. With few options to directly address the green talent gap, companies and municipalities are desperately looking for turnkey, innovative solutions to solve their talent needs.
“The global climate transition is the greatest opportunity of our time, but we won’t achieve our net-zero goals without the talent to power it,” says Julius CEO Matthew Evans. “Julius takes an AI & data-led approach to create scalable solutions that help diverse talent start and grow green careers.”
In addition to bolstering Julius' scale and impact, WGU Labs and Julius will conduct a comprehensive labor market analysis to pioneer a Workforce Readiness Index that will serve as a robust measure of the green talent economy. This index will help green industry workforce stakeholders assess talent availability and readiness in their regions, and inform workforce development strategies to promote green economic growth and transition. The index will also leverage skills taxonomies specific to the green talent marketplace and identify transfer pathways from traditional carbon-based sectors.
“Julius has tremendous potential to develop the talent pipeline necessary to drive the transition to a green economy in a manner that provides clear and equitable pathways to high quality green jobs,” says Brad Bernatek, managing director of the Accelerator at WGU Labs.
Julius represents the 23rd partnership for the Accelerator at WGU Labs since its inception in 2019. To learn more about the Accelerator and its partners, visit https://wgulabs.org/accelerator/.
About WGU Labs
WGU Labs is the nonprofit EdTech consulting, incubation, research, and design arm of Western Governors University, where our mission is to identify and support scalable solutions that address the biggest challenges in education today.
The Accelerator at WGU Labs provides research, market development, and product enhancement services to early-stage education businesses. Through these services, as well as financial investments, the Accelerator advances the scale and impact of education companies that share its mission to increase student access, lower student costs and improve student outcomes. Learn more at wgulabs.org or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Julius
Julius is on a mission to address the talent needs of the clean energy transition by providing inclusive solutions to start and grow green careers. Through the power of AI and data, Julius is making sense of the green labor market, building better learner experiences, and connecting job seekers with relevant jobs and career pathways. Learn more about Julius at juliusedu.com.
Attachment
Natalie Berkey WGU Labs 385-428-9425 natalie.berkey@wgu.edu
