Employers, educators and workforce professionals learned how to tap NYSERDA wage subsidies of up to $11,000 per hire at the Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board’s 2026 Annual Meeting
Clean energy already supports more than 10,000 jobs in Westchester and Putnam counties, and employers hiring new workers for clean energy roles can now apply for New York State subsidies that cover part of the cost of hiring and training. That was the message for employers, educators, workforce professionals and community partners at the Westchester-Putnam Workforce Development Board’s (WPWDB) 2026 Annual Meeting, held Tuesday, October 13 at the Gateway Center at SUNY Westchester Community College in Valhalla.
The meeting, themed “Building the Clean Energy Talent Machine: Aligning Training with Opportunity,” opened with a keynote on the state of the clean energy sector from Angela N. Son, Founder and CEO of The Green Launchpad, and Antuan Cannon, Vice President of Talent Development and Innovation at Willdan Energy Solutions.
Son and Cannon reported that Westchester and Putnam are home to 10,297 clean energy jobs, about 5.6% of the 184,536 statewide, according to data from NYSERDA and E2, a national nonpartisan business group that tracks clean energy employment. Nearly three of every four of those local jobs are in energy efficiency, which includes installing heat pumps, insulation and building controls, and performing energy audits. Statewide, the energy efficiency sector added 5,446 of the 6,087 new clean energy jobs created in 2024, while energy storage was the fastest-growing sector at 7.1%.
The speakers also mapped the sector’s four branches, i.e., energy efficiency, energy storage, renewable energy and clean transportation, to specific roles, certifications and the education each requires. Attendees said that breakdown made an abstract industry more concrete.
“Before I came, I knew green energy was happening, but I didn’t know how to get the job seekers we serve on board,” said Barbara Saunders, Business Services Liaison at the Yonkers Career Center. “When they took the sectors and put them into pockets of real jobs and said things like this is an engineering job, this is a technician job, this is project management, that’s when the light bulb went off.”
Hands-on sessions on state funding
Nearly 100 attendees then split into two hands-on breakout sessions built around New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) programs:
- “Hiring and Training New Clean Energy Talent,” led by Cannon, walked employers and workforce staff through NYSERDA’s On-the-Job Training program. The program reimburses employers for part of a new hire’s wages during training, up to $11,000 per hire, for early-career clean energy roles paying roughly $18 to $40 an hour. Participants drafted real training plans using NYSERDA’s template.
- “Designing a Clean Energy Career Pathways Program,” led by Son, covered NYSERDA’s $30 million Clean Energy Career Pathways Training solicitation. It funds training programs of $250,000 to $1.5 million that prepare and place new workers in entry-level clean energy jobs. Teams sketched program concepts covering target roles, employer partners, budgets and outcomes. The next application deadline is November 24, 2026, with rounds continuing through November 2027.
“I do on-the-job training every day, so this was right up my alley,” Saunders said. “He had us work through real-life scenarios and decide which positions would be approved and which would raise red flags. When we walked away, you could hear everyone in that room saying, ‘Oh, wow, is that how it works?’”
“Clean energy jobs are already here in Westchester and Putnam, and the funding to hire and train for them are available right now,” said Thom Kleiner, Executive Director of the WPWDB. “Our job is to make sure local employers, training providers and job seekers know how to use it. Watching all of these people roll up their sleeves and draft real training plans tells us this community is ready to move from talk to implementation.”
Connections that continue
The sessions closed with each room reporting back what it had learned. For several attendees, the work continued after the meeting ended.
“Several of us gathered at a table afterward, and I already have a meeting with someone who attended to talk about what’s next,” Saunders said. “It was relevant, it was engaging and it was interactive. Now I feel like it’s doable.”
Employers interested in clean energy wage subsidies, and organizations exploring training programs, can contact the WPWDB or any Career Center in the network at www.westchesterputnamonestop.com.
THE WESTCHESTER-PUTNAM WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD (WPWDB) is comprised of leaders and staff of state and county government agencies, non-profits, public education, and the private sector who work together to strengthen the partnerships between business, education, and service providers within the “Career Center Network” to meet the needs for a skilled workforce. The WPWDB pursues funding opportunities and develops model programs and leading-edge practices. The “Network” is made up of four Career Centers (White Plains, Mount Vernon, Peekskill, and Carmel) as well as partner agencies that provide state-of-the-art technology, training, resources, and services to youth, adults and employers. For more information, visit www.westchesterputnamonestop.com.