Communities nationwide are striving to expand economic opportunities by strengthening education and training pathways leading to quality employment. However, increasingly frequent and severe climate-related disasters—such as hurricanes, wildfires, floods, and extreme heat—are endangering lives, disrupting local economies, and undermining workforce development initiatives essential for upward mobility. n nThese extreme events can severely damage transportation networks, cut off electricity and internet access, disrupt childcare, and create lasting psychological stress. Such disruptions make it difficult for individuals to attend training programs consistently, potentially causing adult learners to miss critical instruction, fall behind on certification timelines, or drop out before acquiring necessary skills. n nIntegrating climate resilience and emergency preparedness into workforce strategies enables local governments to anticipate obstacles and reduce the impact of future disasters. Key actions include: n nStrengthening infrastructure. Durable infrastructure reduces service interruptions and shortens recovery time after disasters, while also extending the lifespan of public assets and supporting community health and environmental sustainability. For instance, since nearly all community college students live off-campus, reliable, climate-adaptive public transit is vital for their participation in career-advancing programs. Municipalities can consult resources like the National League of Cities’ guides on green infrastructure, complete streets policies, and municipal dig-once ordinances to implement nature-based and resilient design solutions. n nSupporting microgrid deployment. Microgrids are localized energy systems, often powered by renewable sources such as solar or wind, capable of operating independently or alongside larger grids. During emergencies, these decentralized systems recover faster and, when paired with battery storage, can maintain continuous power. Using renewable energy reduces dependence on fossil fuels. Although initial investment is high, long-term economic benefits, local control, and reliability make microgrids a strategic choice for resilient energy planning. n nExpanding municipal broadband access. When storms block roads and prevent in-person attendance, dependable high-speed internet allows adult learners to continue training remotely where feasible. Broadband also ensures timely access to emergency information, including locations for food, shelter, and other critical services. Cities can explore establishing public broadband authorities and removing regulatory barriers to expand connectivity. n nEstablishing cross-sector partnerships for comprehensive support. Adult learners facing housing insecurity, food instability, or family care challenges struggle to complete training. Collaborations among city officials, educational institutions, and social service providers can ensure access to essential supports. Formal agreements with schools, colleges, and community organizations can streamline emergency aid delivery. Partnering with health providers also strengthens mental and physical wellbeing during crises. n nPreparing workers for green economy roles. As governments and industries commit to climate goals, demand for skilled workers in sustainability-focused fields is rising faster than supply. Local investment in green job training aligns workforce development with emerging economic needs and expands career pathways for residents. n nCase Study: LaBelle, Florida’s Rapid Response Through Collaboration n nLaBelle, a small city in Southwest Florida with a population of 4,966, has faced repeated hurricane threats. Mayor Julie Wilkins has prioritized economic advancement by aligning workforce programs with local industry needs through partnerships with higher education institutions, the Economic Development Council, adult education providers, and regional coalitions. n nFollowing Hurricanes Helene and Milton in fall 2024, the city activated its pre-established network to provide emergency shelter, food, and communication channels. These alliances enabled rapid dissemination of safety updates and resource locations. Importantly, the partnerships helped maintain educational continuity by facilitating remote learning opportunities through Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) and Florida SouthWestern State College. FGCU even launched new, tuition-free short-term programs to retrain workers from industries devastated by the storms. n nAs climate disruptions grow more common, cities must embed resilience into education and training systems. Proactive planning and holistic community resilience strategies can safeguard workforce development efforts, support economic advancement, and ensure long-term program success. n— news from National League of Cities
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Building Climate Resilient Workforce Development Programs to Advance Residents’ Economic Mobility
Cities, towns and villages across the country are working hard to ensure that residents have economic opportunities by investing in stronger education and training pathways into high-quality jobs. At the same time, more frequent and intense extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires, flooding and extreme heat threaten lives, livelihoods, local industries and workforce development efforts that support residents’ ability to achieve economic mobility and advancement. n nExtreme weather events may cause large scale destruction and disruptions to travel routes, electricity access, internet connectivity, childcare and other basic needs in addition to the mental toll of recovering from these events. The combination of these factors may make it difficult for residents to participate in education and training programs. These interruptions can cause adult students to lose valuable learning time, fall off track to complete credentials needed to advance in their careers or stop participating in programs before receiving needed skills and credentials. n nFactoring climate resilience and emergency preparedness measures into workforce development strategies helps municipalities set residents up for success by accounting for potential barriers early on and mitigating the impacts of future extreme weather events. Here are a few key steps municipalities can take: n nMake infrastructure resilient. Resilient infrastructure can help minimize disruptions and the number of “bounce back” days needed after an extreme weather event, prolong the lifespan of infrastructure, and produce additional benefits for human wellbeing and the climate. For example, 99 percent of community college students live off-campus and rely on and would benefit from climate resilient public transportation to participate in critical education and training programs to help advance their careers. Find guidance on using nature-based solutions and other proven practices to build resilient infrastructure in National League of Cities’ resources on Building Resilience Infrastructure for Healthier, Safer Cities, Elevating Complete Streets Policies with Green Infrastructure and Designing a Municipal Dig Once Policy. n nInvest in microgrids. Microgrids are small-scale distributed energy grids that may be powered by solar and wind energy. They may operate independently or in conjunction with larger energy grids. During emergency events, decentralized energy grids can bounce back more easily, and microgrids are often paired with battery storage to provide continuous power. When the microgrid uses renewable energy as either the primary or backup source of energy, it can help reduce reliance on fossil fuels. While microgrids often present high upfront costs, evidence suggests that they provide economic value long term, in addition to being locally controlled and resilient sources of energy. n nInvest in municipal broadband. When extreme weather events disrupt transportation routes to in-person meetings, having reliable, accessible broadband internet can help adult learners continue to participate in programs through virtual programming options (when virtual programming is a viable alternative). Access to broadband can also help residents receive consistent communication about where they can receive food, emergency shelter and other needed supports. Learn more about opportunities for creating local broadband authorities and removing barriers to expanding broadband. n nCreate partnerships to provide wrap around services. It is difficult for adult learners to be able to complete education and training programs when they struggle to meet their own or their family’s basic needs. Partnerships between city leaders, education and training providers and service providers are crucial to ensuring that residents have access to what they need (PDF) to continue participating in training programs. Municipalities can leverage mutual agreements with schools, institutes of higher education and community-based organizations to establish protocols for offering shelter, food and access to other basic needs. Partnering with service providers to enable resident access to physical and mental health support can help residents through challenging times. n nBuild a workforce prepared to address a growing need for green jobs. As industries and governments set climate goals and reckon with the impact climate change is having on quality of life, infrastructure and operations, the demand for “green jobs” workers is outpacing supply. Municipalities can bolster residents’ economic opportunities while meeting local workforce needs by investing in green jobs programs. n nLeadership in Action: Rapid Responsiveness Through Partnerships in LaBelle, FL n nMany communities across the country are already reckoning with climate change’s impacts on their workforce development programs and seeing the need to build flexibility into these programs. n nLaBelle, FL (population: 4,966) is one such community. Mayor Julie Wilkins has worked hard to enable her residents to access greater economic mobility by creating stronger alignment between education and training programs and local industry through partnerships with institutions of higher education, the local Economic Development Council, adult education programs and collective impact coalitions. n nLocated in Southwest Florida, LaBelle is no stranger to hurricane season. Most recently, this rural community has been recovering from the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in Fall 2024. The city leveraged the critical partnerships it had built for workforce development to offer residents access to shelter, food and other basic needs. The partners also came together to create communication trees to rapidly disseminate important information about emergency protocols and available resources. These partnerships also helped minimize disruptions to residents’ ability to continue upskilling and reskilling by creating opportunities for them to continue their training and academic pursuits through programs at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) and Florida SouthWestern State College. Specifically, FGCU created and offered entirely new free short-term training programs to reskill workers whose industries had been decimated by the storm. n nAs extreme weather becomes more pervasive, municipalities must prepare for disruptions to workforce training programs and the dislocation of workers due to the temporary long-term closures of entire industries. Integrating climate resilient protocols into local education and training programs — and building local climate resilience holistically — can help avoid disruptions, enable residents’ economic mobility and workforce success and meet municipalities’ workforce development goals.