Coincidences fascinate us. They seem to compel a search for their significance. More often than some people realize, however, they're to be expected and require no special explanation. Surely no cosmic conclusions may be drawn from the fact that I recently--and quite by accident--met someone in Salinas whose 1) father played on the same Chicago high school baseball team as my father had and 2) daughter is the same age and has the same name as my daughter. As improbable as this particular event was, that some event of this vaguely characterized sort should occasionally occur is quite likely.

No time should be wasted trying to explain the meaning of these or other coincidences of similar type. They just happen.

More precisely, it can be shown, that if two strangers sit next to each other on an airplane, more than 99 times out of 100 they will be linked in some way by two or fewer intermediates. (The linkage with my father's classmate was more striking; it was via only one intermediate, my father, and contained other elements.) Maybe, for example, the cousin of one passenger will know the other's dentist. Most of the time people won't discover these links, since in casual conversation they don't usually run through all their 1,500 or so acquaintances as well as all their acquaintances' acquaintances.

With our seemingly endless interconnections and ability for instant access in a web based world, it makes one wonder why it's so hard to get information on where all the clean energy sector jobs are, or where they are planned to be? Is it really so top secret?

One would believe that if there are jobs to be found the key is to connect those jobs with a qualified workforce...yet all I find are fee based database after fee based database. AAAGGGHHH!!!

I'm aware that we live in a capitalistic society but for peat's sake people! Where are the jobs in the clean energy sector? I say we get on a plane and start talking to one another. Aren't we all working for the same cause? Let's stop duplicating efforts and trying to vie for credit and begin working together for the cause--start collaborating to produce a viable product that can really make a difference.

Okay...okay, enough said...sorry if I sound a bit frustrated but let me tell you a little secret. I am frustrated.

I don't know about you but...I do feel a little better. Thanks for the bend of the ear, I will be sure to return the favor.

Oh, and if anyone has any info they would like to share with me regarding clean and renewable jobs in the San Joaquin Valley, please do, dcox at pesc dot com (dcox@pesc.com) or feel free to call me at (559) 490-1318.

photo credit: caribb via photopin cc

photo credit: SenatorMarkUdall via photopin cc

This event has been postponed to December 14th. Same time, same place. For more information contact Courtney Kalashian @ (877) 748-0841 or ckalashian@pesc.com

I may have mentioned in passing our project working with community colleges in the San Joaquin Valley--heck, even Huffington Post is talking about it--but I've not taken the time to really explain what we're doing and why we're doing it. Well, my apologies and please, allow me to tell you a bit about this thing we like to call "C6".

In May 2012 the SJVCEO began a partnership with the Central California Community Colleges Committed to Change (C6) consortium under a Department of Labor grant to redesign how community college students are trained to enter the clean energy workforce. Our role is to convene educators with industry leaders to jointly design skills training based on real life needs.

Our purpose is to serve as a convener of employers, industry experts and educators to look at Alternative/Clean Energy (ACE) education in a holistic manner. For the past six months we have been meeting with employers and asking what they want in their future employees. We've meet with educators and asked what they're doing, and how they'd like to change it. We have researched existing sources of curriculum, then taken it back to the employers and educators and asked how can we make this more applicable for students in Central California.

But that wasn't enough.

Maureen, Dee and I found ourselves asking, 'where are all these newly trained students going to go?' and we didn't have a concrete answer and with that a workshop was born! (PS--you're invited!)

“Clean Energy in the Valley: where are the jobs?”

Our one-day workshop will serve as a true “work” shop in which we will attempt to geographically determine where the jobs are now, where projects are planned, and what the actual employment opportunities are in our eight county region. At the end of the day we want to have enough data to create an online, interactive GIS based map that represents what, where and when clean energy jobs are available in the San Joaquin Valley, what training and certifications are needed at each site, and where training is available.

The ideal attendee for the event is a person familiar with the business plans of you organization or involved in planning and permitting for clean energy projects—where contracts will be, number of jobs, length of contract, training and certification needed. We want to take a broad view on clean energy: efficiency, solar, wind, water, biofuels, weatherization, green building, and more! Please mark your calendars and join us:

Thursday, November 15, 2012

9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

The University of California, Merced

Small Business Development Center Regional Network in partnership with the US Small Business Administration

550 East Shaw Avenue, Suite 100

Fresno, CA 93710-7702

Please RSVP to ckalashian@pesc.com and please forward this to those you think would benefit from participating.

If you have questions or would like more information on this event please contact Courtney Kalashian, (877) 748-0841 or ckalashian@pesc.com.

photo credit: SenatorMarkUdall via photopin cc

The Theory of Probability supplies not a small number of unexpected results, controversial problems and paradoxes.

Clean Energy in the San Joaquin Valley: where are the jobs?