GED/High School Diploma
Having only a high school diploma or a GED can often make it hard to get a good job. So can poverty, abuse and incarceration.
Luckily, there are programs that can help people in these situations get a leg up. Some of these programs are called green-job training programs. They teach the entry-level jobs skills and the life skills you need to succeed in the growing green economy. These training programs can’t guarantee you a job. But many of them help their trainees find jobs, using placement programs and other follow-up services.
Other environmentally-friendly fields offer jobs to people with high school degrees or GEDs, too. These include public transportation, construction, recycling and waste reduction, and water conservation and stormwater management. You can learn a little about jobs in these fields in this section of the Green Jobs Guide. To learn more about the kinds of jobs available in these fields, how these jobs help the environment, and to find more job-listing websites, check out each of this guide’s job area sections.
Green Job Training Programs
Several green job-training programs teach the job skills you need for a first job in areas like energy efficiency and waste reduction. Here is a list of New York City programs:
Bronx Environmental Stewardship Academy (Bronx)
Fortune Society (Long Island City, Queens)
Green City Force (Brooklyn)
Green Ladders (Long Island City, Queens)
ReNEW (Manhattan)
There is also job training available for people who are interested in working in brownfield remediation. That is, in cleaning up sites that have been polluted with dangerous chemicals. In New York City, a program in the Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation connects people who’ve gone through training at community workforce development organizations with companies looking to hire workers in this field. These workforce development organizations include the Fortune Society, Saint Nicholas Preservation Corporation and Strive. For more details about how this works, see the Environmental Protection and Remediation section of this guide.
Public Transportation
Public transportation is a good field for people with high school diplomas and GEDs. Of course, it’s good for the environment, too, because subways, light rail, commuter trains and buses do a lot less polluting per person than cars do. In New York City, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York City Transit (NYCT), have many openings. NYCT is the part of the MTA that runs New York City’s subways and buses. And the good news is that the MTA does a lot of on-the-job training. So you might not need a specific set of skills to start working for the MTA.
To apply for any job at the MTA, you must go through the Authority’s website. You cannot send the MTA a cover letter and résumé in the mail. The website lists the different MTA agencies and the jobs they are looking to fill. To use the website, simply register on the upper right corner of the Careers webpage, and then you can look at all the jobs that are available now.
Sometimes, passing a civil service test can help you get a job at the MTA. Civil service tests are given by the city’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services. You can find the schedule for these tests here. That schedule is also available through the website and the print version of a newspaper called The Chief Leader.
There are also transit jobs available through the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. You can apply for these jobs through the Port Authority’s Careers webpage. If you have already registered at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority website, you don’t need to re-register. Your username and password will work on this website, too.
New Jersey Transit offers train, light rail and bus services. You can apply for jobs through its Careers webpage.
Amtrak is the country’s passenger train service. It runs trains in 46 states, including New York. You can search for jobs on its Careers webpage.
For more job possibilities, check out the Public Transportation section of this guide.
Construction Pre-Apprenticeship Programs, Apprenticeship Programs, and other Construction Skills Training
Working in construction can be a good way to make a living for people with high school degrees or GEDs. And construction jobs are getting greener as more and more architects and engineers design buildings with the environment in mind.
In construction, there are two kinds of jobs: union jobs and non-union jobs. Construction unions guarantee salaries and benefits to working members. Union jobs also require a lot of training. That training is provided through union apprenticeship programs. Many of these apprenticeship programs offer training in green construction.
Getting into an apprenticeship program can be very hard to do. Openings in these programs are limited. To find apprenticeship openings, check out this website from the New York State Department of Labor. Read these postings carefully. They often have very detailed requirements.
Pre-apprenticeship programs can help some people join building trade unions without having to wait for apprenticeship programs to open up. In New York City, there are at least three pre-apprentice programs: One, called the Edward J. Malloy Initiative for Construction Skills, is available to African American, Latino and Asian American high-school seniors in New York City schools. Another is at Nontraditional Employment for Women. It helps women enter the building trades. The third, for veterans, is called Helmets to Hardhats. Several construction unions also have their own pre-apprenticeship programs.
For people interested in non-union construction jobs, a program called BuildingSkillsNY provides eight to 10 weeks of training in construction skills, including green construction skills.
Whether someone works in a union or non-union construction job, people who work in this field emphasize that it is important for construction workers to have construction skills first, before getting additional training in subjects that can help them find work on green construction sites.
Recycling, Composting and Waste Reduction
New York City’s Sanitation Department is one of the biggest employers in the recycling, composting and waste reduction field. A large number of the department’s 9,000 employees work in recycling, composting and other kinds of waste reduction.
To work for the Sanitation Department collecting recycling, compost and other materials, you must first get a job as an entry-level sanitation worker. There is no separate hiring for people interested in recycling. Sanitation workers, like police officers and firefighters, are assigned jobs by their supervisors. To get an entry-level sanitation job, you have to take a written test as part of the application process. Click here for more information about the test and the application process.
Private and Not-For-Profit Recycling, Composting and Waste Reduction Programs
A lot of New York City’s recycling; composting and waste reduction is done by private companies and by not-for-profit organizations. They have jobs for drivers and other workers who collect, transport and process recycling, compost and other stuff that can be put to good use, instead of being thrown in a garbage dump.
You can find a list of private haulers, recycling businesses and not-for-profit groups that work in the Recycling, Composting and Waste Reduction section of this guide.
Water Conservation and Stormwater Management
There are entry-level jobs, too, for people interested in keeping our water safe and clean. New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection runs a large number of water conservation programs that do just that. It also has jobs in stormwater management and green infrastructure. Green infrastructure uses systems like green roofs and porous pavement to prevent sewer systems from overflowing and polluting our waterways when there’s too much rain or snow. These jobs are listed on the NYC Careers website.
In fact, almost every green job field has some entry-level jobs for people with high school diplomas or GEDs. To find out more about these jobs and to learn how you to look for them, check out the job area sections of this guide. Good luck!
Construction Apprenticeship, Pre-Apprenticeship and Training Programs
Edward J. Malloy Initiative for Construction Skills
New York City Building Trades Unions
New York State Department of Labor Apprenticeship Program Openings Listings
Nontraditional Employment for Women
Green Job Training & Workforce Development Programs
Bronx Environmental Stewardship Academy (Bronx)
Fortune Society (Long Island City, Queens)
Green City Force (Brooklyn)
Green Ladders (Long Island City, Queens)
ReNEW (Manhattan)
Saint Nicholas Preservation Corporation
Public Transportation Job Websites
Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Port Authority of New York & New Jersey
Recycling, Composting and Waste Reduction Job Boards and Websites
Habitat for Humanity’s ReStores
New York City Department of Sanitation
Water Conservation and Stormwater Management