As she works through her day, which runs from 6am to 2:30pm, she rattles off an impressive list of tasks she's recently completed: Hanging racks. Working on lighting and power. Running MC cable. Reading printouts. Installing a new fire alarm. Routing and connecting wiring. Plumbing. The list is long and varied, and I make a mental note to look up some of these terms after we part ways.
She admits that a lot of the work is new to her, which she says makes it fun. It also helps that she's getting really good at it. She's especially proud of the pipe bending, which requires complex calculations and labor-intensive hand bending (as opposed to simpler power bending).
“Electrical work was never my forte, but now I love it,” she says. “We had an instructor come in to Civic Works and teach me a little bit more, and I thought, 'Maybe this isn't that hard, maybe it's easier than I thought,' but it's not easy at all! There's a lot to learn about electrical work. It's a lifelong learning process.”
Luckily, Asia has the opportunity to continue on her path of lifelong learning if she so chooses. Clean energy careers like those offered by Climate Corps are increasingly in demand, and Asia takes solace in the promise of a sustainable career. “I feel like this can get me somewhere. I get a lot of compliments saying that with what I'm doing, I can go far,” she asserts. “And it's true that there are a lot of opportunities, a lot of jobs will be created. That's the reality. In the economy and the way we live now, everything is going electric. So the jobs will continue to come.”
“Because it's a union, we're all like family.”
A core tenet of the Climate Corps is that green jobs must be good jobs, which means an intentional focus on building career paths and developing training curricula that give corps members the skills to secure union apprenticeships. As Asia's story shows, this path will help ensure that America's burgeoning clean energy workforce receives the benefits of union membership: stable employment, a higher standard of living, and safer working conditions for all.
Moving from an employer known for busting unions to an apprenticeship with the IBEW, the world's oldest and largest electrical workers union, Asia's working conditions, quality of life and job satisfaction have improved dramatically. Speaking of the night-and-day difference, Asia reflects, “It's so great. Because it's a union, we're all like family. We treat each other like brothers and sisters. My apprentices are so great. They care about me. They treat me really well. I get food, which is great. As an apprentice, if I make it to the top, I'll do the same for my apprentices.”
Climate Corps envisions a clean energy workforce where people lift each other up. Asia's examples show this can be achieved by prioritizing human potential. By investing in the next generation of workers and equipping them with the right skills and support, we can foster a vibrant workforce.
