Massachusetts governor Maura Healey launched the Climate Careers Fund at a Vatican climate summit this week attended by local leaders from New York to São Paulo.
Targeted at $10 million, the fund will be managed by Boston-based Social Finance. The Climate Careers Fund will provide low-cost loans to cover training for electricians, EV mechanics, HVAC technicians and other climate-related jobs in high demand. It will also cover ancillary costs such as childcare and transportation.
To reach the state’s greenhouse gas reduction mandates, Massachusetts needs to train an additional 34,000 workers for climate sector jobs by the end of the decade, Gov. Healy said. “This is a once-in-a-generation call to build an expanded and inclusive workforce.”
Healy is looking to raise philanthropic funds for the public-private partnership vehicle. The funds will be “recycled,” she said, as “workers and employers pay back the loans into the fund to help more people and fill more jobs.”
