Wisconsin’s Dane County Could Be a Model for High School Conservation Corps Programs | Article

The February 2022 jobs report, released on March 29, provided more data pointing to a tight labor market, with 678,000 job creations reported—far above estimates. The unemployment rate fell to 3.8 percent, a new low during the pandemic. Most importantly, there are 5 million fewer unemployed people than there are available jobs—a new record. Local governments, and the community organizations that support them, are figuring out ways to address these labor shortages. Operation Fresh Start (OFS), a program in Dane County, Wisconsin, sees an opportunity for their training programs to increase the pool of potential employees. OFS trains at-risk youth in construction and conservation work while they earn a high school diploma.

Since its inception about 50 years ago, OSF has grown from a construction-focused program to now include training in conservation work. About 20 years ago, OFS started doing summer conservation work in partnership with the City of Madison and Dane County Parks. Eight years later, this initiative transitioned into a year-round program that works on everything from invasive species removal to flood mitigation.

The program aims to prepare youth for the next stage of their lives, whether that be employment or further education. Participating youth spend about 70 to 80 percent of their time on-site doing conservation or construction work and about 20 to 30 percent in the classroom. In addition to a high school diploma, OFS helps participants earn their driver’s license, which is the second most-required document in job applications in Wisconsin, according to Greg Markle, executive director of OFS.

Often youth that enter the program are at risk of dropping out of high school, live in poverty, or have interacted with the criminal justice system. About 30 percent of youth in the program are housing insecure or homeless.

OFS expands the pool of potential employees by developing skills in students “who are most at-risk or have the fewest other options available,” said Markle.

OFS reports an 81 percent success rate for the year 2021, with success being defined as completing the program with a high school diploma. Alumni who choose to continue in the conservation field most often become employed with the City of Madison or Dane County’s Parks Division or as engineers.

Part of Dane County’s future plan is creating a Civilian Climate Corps (CCC), a version of which is also included in President Biden’s American Jobs Plan and the House-passed Build Back Better Act (H.R.5376). All of these programs are modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Depression-era program in which young men built infrastructure across the country. In Dane County’s CCC, students of all genders will be able to participate while simultaneously completing their high school education.

“We see this as a good opportunity for our young people in a growing area of the economy because, wherever we focus, it's always about what's next for that young person… Most importantly, we want our young people to be self-sufficient when they leave us,” said Markle.

Markle highlighted solar careers and green building construction jobs as prospects for future CCC alumni. Solar installer positions are among the top five fastest growing occupations in the country. Strong job growth in green building construction is also expected—there were 2.1 million jobs in energy efficiency alone in 2020.

Operation Fresh Start, which is leading the planning effort with Dane County to develop CCC programming, anticipates twelve youth will engage in CCC training this year. The next step for the Dane County Civilian Climate Corps to become a reality is to secure stable funding. Markle suggested that funding may be available from federal and state governments as well as private organizations. Among the most significant opportunities for funding can be found in the House-passed Build Back Better Act. Though this legislation is currently stalled in the Senate, Dane County is still planning to plow forward in tackling the labor shortage by preparing at-risk youth for careers in the green economy.

Author: S. Grace Parker