This is precisely what the Wal-Mart Foundation is doing by providing a total of $3.4 million in grants to non-profit organizations that focus on helping Americans get back to work.

The grant is specifically earmarked for programs that are using regional approaches for the development and deployment of a skilled workforce. To this end, the Wal-Mart Foundation has identified seven nonprofits across the United States to support. The San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (Cali-Baja area), Workplace, Inc. (Connecticut and New York), the Mid-America Regional Council (Kansas and Missouri Kansas City), the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), West Central Job Partnership, Inc. (Ohio and Pennsylvania), the Montgomery Institute (Eastern Mississippi region) and the West Michigan Strategic Alliance (Western Michigan area).

These groups are being given between $400,000 and $550,000 by the Wal-Mart Foundation to assist out-of-work individuals looking to gain the necessary skills to secure employment and re-enter the country’s workforce.

Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation, said “now more than ever, we are looking for ways to provide opportunities for those who are out of work and facing tough times. These grants will support people across the country to gain the necessary life and job skills to obtain long-term employment.”

While the idea of helping people acquire employable skills may not be new, what is interesting here is the method of execution. There is recognition that economies that affect ordinary hard-working people are not based on national, state or local performance; rather, these economies are regional. However, a strong regional economy relies on the capacity to create, recruit and sustain a workforce with high levels of skill and flexibility. Will the Wal-Mart Foundation grant truly be able to help, or will its success rely more on other factors?

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about philanthropy.

The report found that the performing arts supported nearly 5,500 businesses and over 100,000 jobs in 2008/09 – a 20% increase compared to 2006/07 – with over a third of those employed in on-stage occupations. Between the two periods, the number of dancers and choreographers increased by half, while directors, producers, and administrators grew by 17 percent.

But despite nearly half of arts organizations reporting a rise in turnover in 2008/09, 55% did not invest in staff training, while 40% claimed they lacked time to implement training programs.

Just over 10% had accessed public funding designed to aid professional development, with nearly half of the staff receiving no training at all during the same period. ICT, technical, and administration skills showed the most severe shortages.

Pointing to the report’s findings, CCS chief executive Tom Bewick said: “The cracks are beginning to show. If this situation continues, there’s a real risk that the performing arts sector won’t have the skilled staff it needs to take full advantage of future business opportunities and this will prevent it from fulfilling its economic promise.”

With over 150,000 new jobs expected in the sector before the decade draws to a close (over half of which will be in “associate professional and technical roles”), I believe it is vital that performing arts businesses begin to invest in training for these roles as soon as possible.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about arts & culture

Henry Ford Community College will design a curriculum to develop core competencies and skills to retain workers for 21st century jobs.

“This program recognizes and will tap into the tremendous potential of the human capital we have in Michigan,” said Governor Jennifer M. Granholm. “This initiative will provide our workers the opportunity to learn the skills they will need to help grow the 21st century economy right here at home.”

The Michigan Alliance for High-Tech Skills Training Program supports efforts by the governor and other Michigan leaders, as well as the Obama Administration, to engage businesses in the education and retraining of displaced workers.

“As President Obama recognized when he announced the American Graduation Initiative right here in Michigan, our nation’s community colleges will continue to play an even greater role in expanding economic opportunities to all individuals,” said Dr. Gail Mee, Henry Ford Community College president. “We are thrilled to have the opportunity to continue helping those here in Michigan who have been hit hardest by the struggling economy.”

I personally believe that evolving technologies require that leading edge businesses train and educate their employees to remain in lockstep with the industry. Education and retraining are the keys to assisting people in rejoining the workforce. The curriculum being offered by Henry Ford, developed together with this coalition, will provide displaced workers with new high-tech skills that can be applied across many industries.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about job creation

The credits, which are funded by the $787 billion economic stimulus package enacted last February, are designed to discharge up to 30 percent of the cost of new investments in manufacturing facilities to produce clean energy products.

The tax credit announcement dovetails with attempts by congressional Democrats to shift attention to the economy and focus on a multibillion dollar job creation package. Environmentalists joined Democrats on Capitol Hill in praising the announcements as much-needed assistance for the struggling manufacturing sectors.

Companies filed more than 500 applications for at least $8 billion in the tax credits. The recipients were selected after reviews by the Energy Department and the IRS. President Obama said the credits – which can be claimed for projects completed after Feb. 16, 2009 and commissioned before Feb. 15, 2013 – will leverage as much as $5.4 billion in private investments and lead to the creation of more than 17,000 jobs.

Nine solar and battery projects qualified in California, with the largest credit of $91.35 million going to Santa Clara-based MiaSolé for plans to manufacture solar cells using thin-film production technology. The company can also claim up to $10.45 million for a similar project. Sunnyvale’s CaliSolar qualified for a credit of up to $51.6 million to build a new manufacturing facility that aims to transform silicon materials into finished solar cells.

In my opinion, building a robust clean energy sector is how we will create the jobs of the future – jobs that pay well and can’t be outsourced. This initiative will give a much-needed boost to our manufacturing sector by building new plants or upgrading existing ones.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about green technology in the news

The research, conducted by Silicon Valley-based research firm Collaborative Economics, underscores California’s lead in the green economy and may indicate where other states can expect green job growth.

California’s jobs in green businesses accounted for less than 1% of jobs statewide in 2008, but employment in green businesses may be holding up better than in other sectors. According to the report, from January 2007 to January 2008, jobs in green businesses grew 5%, while total jobs in California fell 1%.

The green job growth puts California at the forefront of a wide range of technologies, and shows that regions are developing green job clusters off existing strengths. The San Francisco Bay Area leads in green energy generation, San Diego is strong in co-generation technologies, and the Los Angeles and Orange County regions excel in transportation.

Unlike California’s software and biotech industries, which are centered in a few clusters, green jobs are disbursed all around California. California’s green job sector is more than three times the size of its biotech and almost two-thirds the size of its software sector, according to the report.

I believe that green jobs in California are being fueled, in large part, by government policies encouraging energy efficiency and solar adoption. And though California’s unemployment rate is still high, the trend lines are up for green jobs. The green economy is even helping California with manufacturing jobs. They accounted for 21% of green jobs as of January 2008, while manufacturing accounted for 11% of the state’s jobs.

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about green technology

The study, Clean Energy & Climate Policy for U.S. Growth and Job Creation: An Economic Assessment of the American Clean Energy & Security Act and the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act presents some encouraging estimates. Among them, as many as 1.9 million new jobs could be created across the country within the renewable energy sector, and an estimated $1,175 increase in annual household income. Additionally, the Gross Domestic Product could register a rise of $111 billion by 2020.

However, the report doesn’t offer any guarantees, either. The figures are merely estimates that hinge largely on a number of variables that are unlikely to be realized within the next decade. Among the uncertain factors at play, the idea that energy companies will have 20% of their power generated from renewable energy sources by 2020, and the assumption that the carbon emissions cap and trade system will be fully instituted. The study also assumes that billions will be invested in the research and development of ‘cleantech’ technologies.

If President Obama stays the course, he could realistically be on the way to fulfilling his commitment to create five million jobs on a green platform over the next decade. If the energy companies can be anywhere near the 20 percent renewable sources at that point, and if the climate bill will be approved to establish the carbon emissions cap and trade systems soon, millions of people across all 50 states will benefit greatly even before the target date of 2020.

“It is essential for us to take full advantage of the opportunity that renewable energy currently provides to us. To have the ability to improve the current job economy while simultaneously improving the health of our environment is highly motivating.” Mouli Cohen

View a previously written post by Mouli Cohen about Solar Power

Joseph Stiglitz, a former Nobel Prize winner in economics, made waves yesterday when he argued against Bernanke’s claim. Stiglitz, in an interview with Daily Finance, said that ” we would be lucky to be out of the recession by 2012…2010 may be a year of positive growth, though far weaker than would be necessary to get unemployment down significantly.”

The current unemployment rate has remained a sticking point for many of the assessments of the economy, including Bernanke own view. The lack of new jobs created provides a frightening scenario for the world’s wealthiest countries, who are in desperate need of tax revenue to pay for the stimulus measures undertaken to right their respective economies.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, “high unemployment in the world’s wealthiest countries could last years,” ensuring that the crater left by last year’s events would be much deeper than most experts had hoped.

Stiglitz’s view makes job creation the number one factor in any recovery, a fact which echoes much of the rhetoric of President Obama around the time of the stimulus bill’s passage. Stiglitz also came out to condemn the practice of trading in complex derivatives by saying they do not serve the “common good” in any meaningful way.

This Nobel Prize winner’s analysis should not be dismissed as naysaying, but rather be looked upon as a challenge for the private sector, which may have the power to infuse the economy with the kind of projects designed to put people to work. Without an improvement in unemployment at some point in the next two quarters, the futures outlook could be grim.

[image via Seattle Municipal Archives]

Here are a few telling statistics to come out of the report, which captures data beginning in 2006 through the end of 2008:

- Venture-backed companies now account for 12 million jobs and 21% of GDP

- 81% of the software industry’s 1 million jobs originate from venture-backed startups

- Over that time, venture-backed business showed 1.6% job growth in the private sector vs. 0.2% in the industry as a whole

The full details of the report can be found here. I highly suggest spending some time with this document as it does a nice job of framing not only the financial ramifications that VCs have on fledgling businesses, but the culture that they can help to create during early stage growth. This guidance and development of best practices won’t show up on any balance sheets, but can certainly make the difference between success and failure.

NVCA Venture Impact 5th Ed

[image via Mark Coggins]

While its “inspired by Starbucks” new store concept is a novel idea, it does little to change the culture around the brand, but with its recycling pilot program, its seems poised to make a real impact. The goal of the endeavor is simple yet impressive: ensure that every single coffee cup and food wrapper can be recycled by 2012. The full scope of the plan can be read here.

If Starbucks can achieve this goal, the ripple effect will definitely influence the entire industry. While adopting a similar program won’t be mandatory by any means, once consumers see the results, it’s hard to imagine other major fast food chains being able to resist the shift.

With the increase in recyclable material, there is the potential for an influx in the recycling sector, creating more jobs and less waste with a much smaller carbon footprint.

[image via imotion dung]

Given the United States’ rich history of immigration and the current hotbed issues surrounding it, this is a small concession that could have profound implications for the future of our nation and economy. Logistics aside – how to define a start-up and what to do if a fledging company fails etc. – this would be an extremely effective means of injecting innovation at the foundations of our country.

As Paul Graham notes in his original treatise, “Letting just 10,000 startup founders into the country each year could have a visible effect on the economy. If we assume 4 people per startup, which is probably an overestimate, that’s 2500 new companies. Each year. They wouldn’t all grow as big as Google, but out of 2500 some would come close.”

Given that these individuals would be building new businesses, they wouldn’t be taking jobs away from Americans, and in all likelihood would be creating more opportunities and industries. Programs that encourage and incentivize the entrepreneurial spirit within our borders are exactly the kind of forward-thinking pathways to progress that we should be pushing for.

[image via nromagna]