H2Workforce, an exciting new collaboration featuring GNO Inc., is paving the way for a future that will be good for both Louisiana’s economy and its environment.
H2Workforce is a project led by the Louisiana Community and Technical College System. The goal is to create the new generation of energy workers in Louisiana. The project provides industry-driven training, equitable access and outreach, and career development services. The Louisiana Technical College System reported 1,458 finishers of programs associated with H2theFuture initiatives.
The project is one component of H2TheFuture, a coalition of 25 partners from across Louisiana aimed at assisting the state in decarbonizing South Louisiana’s industrial corridor while preserving high-quality jobs. Louisiana is well-positioned for this transition because it has the highest per-capita use of hydrogen in the country. It also has other advantages such as the densest pipeline system in America, the second-largest port complex in the Western Hemisphere, and is ranked fourth in the country for offshore wind energy potential.
Salem Habte, Workforce and Entrepreneurship manager at GNO Inc., said Louisiana has lost more jobs than any other state in the traditional oil and gas industry. In the past twenty years, Louisiana has lost over 20,000 jobs in oil and gas due to a combination of automation and boom-and-bust cycles in the industry.
“It’s in the state’s best interest to diversify its energy economy for the sake of our economic independence as well as the environment,” Habte said.
Eight different community colleges received funding from H2TheFuture to fund new and exciting career training opportunities for clean energy jobs. The training is for careers for jobs in hydrogen production, carbon capture, solar panel manufacturing and maintenance, and wind turbine manufacturing and maintenance.
“That’s an economic development goldmine,” Habte said.
The program also emphasizes equity. Only 29% of jobs in the energy industry are held by minorities, compared to more than half in the hospitality sector. Habte said H2Workforce is also partnering with the Urban League to provide these career opportunities to members of underserved Black, Indigenous, and rural communities. They will also work with the Louisiana Parole Project to help recent parolees get jobs in the energy industry.
“The more we don’t make careers and education accessible for parolees, the more likely they are to reoffend,” Habte said.
And at the university level, over 100 students at HBCUs have taken courses about clean and renewable energy. Southern University and A&M College recently announced a new energy concentration that they developed in collaboration with H2theFuture. The classes will be offered within the Bachelor of Science track in the management and marketing degree program. The program was approved in spring 2023 and the first course was offered in fall 2023.
“This program is designed to provide the students with a comprehensive understanding of energy economics, applications of technology in society, and the project development process as well as technical introduction in areas related to renewable energy,” said Luftu Sagbansua, associate professor of decision sciences and supply chain at Southern.
Sagbansua added that student interest in the concentration is growing. The first offered course had six students, but the average enrollment now is over thirteen students per course. To help attract interest to the concentration, Southern created “The Energy Speaker” series featuring industry experts.
“Students find new energy management courses highly relevant due to the growing focus on sustainability and the transition to clean energy,” Sagbansua said. “Students appreciate the alignment of the course content with career opportunities in this rapidly growing industry.”
Southern is also partnering with GNO Inc. on the GNO Inc. Innovation Internship Program (GIIP). This will be a paid internship program that will provide students with work experience with some of region’s most dynamic business and energy partners, in addition to innovative startups.
Nunez Community College offers a wind energy technology program and a coastal studies and GIS program. Jacqueline Richard is the coastal studies and GIS tech program manager at Nunez. She said the program took a few years to develop but is now in its second semester of having students. She said one challenge the program faced was not having national standards for the curriculum, so they used the Denmark-based Global Wind Organization (GWO) standards.
The program’s eleven current students are completely supported by a grant. Students learn about hydraulics, mechanics, motors, and blade repair. Safety is also emphasized because much of the work is done 200-600 feet in the air.
Richard said the median pay for wind turbine technicians is $62,000 a year and the median pay for all Louisiana workers is $52,000 a year. Anyone is welcome to apply to the program.
“You don’t need any academic prerequisites,” Richard said. “You can come straight from a high school or another industry.”
Nunez Community College student Donald Lofton expressed enthusiasm for the program.
“It’s a new opportunity for me to get a better job,” Lofton said.
Lofton first became interested in wind turbines when he saw one while visiting California. But he initially did not pursue a career as a wind turbine technician because the only training courses offered were out of state and he did not want to be away from his children for months.
“When the classes opened up down here, I jumped at the opportunity,” Lofton said. “I like being outdoors. The job is very physical and mental at the same time and as long as you’re not afraid of heights, it can be a good fit for anyone.”
River Parishes Community College is offering an emerging energy course and an alternative energy course in fall 2025. The community college has also collaborated with the University of Louisiana and Louisiana State University for grant submissions for biofuel and green hydrogen projects.
River Parishes Community College has also started two after-school programs for third-graders in Ascension Parish schools. The program will teach students about energy, but also teach vital literacy and numeracy skills to help them pass the LEAP test. It will also give students mentorship opportunities that will expose them to jobs they otherwise never would have learned about.
“These collaborations are important for exposure,” said Donovan Thompson, executive director and dean of the energy sciences division at River Parishes Community College. “Students don’t know what they don’t know. A lack of exposure can prevent them from finding opportunities.”
