The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Community Workforce RAMP Fellowship

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Community Workforce Readiness Accelerator for Major Projects (RAMP) is a pilot initiative centered around a two-year fellowship program overseen by DOE’s Office of Energy Jobs that will recruit candidates from a wide range of backgrounds to learn how to develop and implement strategic workforce partnerships in their communities.  RAMP seeks to provide opportunities to Fellows to learn how to create workforce strategies to meet the demand for skilled workers in high quality jobs on large energy projects funded in part by DOE. RAMP’s goal is to create and scale effective, inclusive workforce development strategies aimed at forging pathways for local workers, underrepresented populations, and disadvantaged communities (including justice-involved people, youth, and women).

Fellows will participate full time out of Host Organizations located in a Target Geography, (i.e., a community where there are large or concentrated public and private investments) including by DOE under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), in clean energy projects and/or manufacturing facilities, such as:

• Construction (e.g., for new or expanded manufacturing facilities, new renewable or clean energy power generation or storage projects, grid expansion or modernization, and hydrogen, direct air capture, nuclear, or carbon capture infrastructure); and
• Production or Manufacturing in the clean energy supply chain (e.g., battery, EV, or other clean energy supply chains, biofuels or hydrogen fuels, recycling, materials processing, or other ongoing operations).

Target Geographies

DOE has identified the following potential and non-exhaustive list of Target Geographies: Southeast Michigan/Northern Ohio (Detroit, Lansing, Toledo); Southern Louisiana; East Tennessee; Columbus, Ohio; Western Oregon; Houston, Texas; Upstate New York; Northern Nevada; Northern Illinois and Indiana; Denver, Colorado; Phoenix, Arizona; Northern New Mexico; Georgia; North Dakota and Minnesota; Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.  

Applicants can also see the Investing in America map of private investments related to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and IRA for additional information on investments and clean energy projects.

Learning Objectives

Fellows are expected to perform a strategic gap analysis of workforce opportunities in their assigned Target Geography, including a workforce needs assessment of all federally funded energy-related projects involving significant construction and/or operations activities. Fellows will be provided with training that will prepare them to lead stakeholder engagement efforts and acquire tools needed for building a robust and inclusive workforce collaboration made up of organized labor, community organizations, employers, education, and other workforce partners. Fellows will be mentored by DOE Office of Energy Jobs staff who will also bring subject matter experts to further assist in fellow-development.  Fellows’ engagement activities will focus on learning to create an inclusive workforce partnership for the development of a good jobs strategy for the energy sector based on the economic opportunities of their assigned Target Geography and the needs of their community.  Strategies and initiatives may include (but are not limited to):

• Apprenticeship readiness programs with preferential entry to registered apprenticeship in relevant fields.
• Recruitment and outreach activities to underrepresented populations.
• Development or expansion of Registered Apprenticeship programs and other earn-and-learn training programs.
• Supportive services allowing workers to be successful while in skills training through the beginning of their careers.
• Establishing local or economic recruitment strategies with corresponding workforce development activities to reach those goals.

Example Fellowship Activities

• Establishing a Workforce Collaborative by recruiting other key community Organizations to participate: Identify and engage other partners to serve as partner Organizations that support the Fellowship activities. The Workforce Collaborative will consist of representatives from five (5) to six (6) organizations along with DOE-funded employers willing to champion the RAMPS objectives to capitalize on the opportunity to connect more people to good quality, family- supporting careers made possible by Investing in America (i.e. BIL and IRA) energy investments. Fellows will receive technical assistance, professional development, peer learning, and capacity support to help them develop skills and knowledge to support these collaboratives.
• Stakeholder engagement to organize priorities
  • Engaging stakeholders to implement commitments made in Community Benefits Plans and build bridges with communities on workforce issues.
  • Engaging with Workforce Collaborative partners, along with employers, to promote the use of Registered Apprenticeships and other earn-and-learn training models.
  • Organizing stakeholders to identify public and private funding opportunities, develop strong funding proposals, and submit plans to secure funding to support a variety of workforce development objectives.
  • Organizing stakeholders to collaborate in reducing common barriers to accessing employment.
  • Organizing stakeholders to form and execute strategic outreach, recruitment, training, and retention activities to improve workforce access for underrepresented populations and disadvantaged communities, with an emphasis on strategies to increase access for women, Opportunity Youth, justice-involved individuals, and members of disadvantaged communities.
• Facilitation of new partnerships and practices
  • Engaging a range of stakeholders to develop training programs, reconsider practices, and plans to prepare and connect people to those jobs, including intentional efforts to connect disadvantaged communities and underrepresented populations.
  • Facilitating deeper partnerships between labor, employers, community-based organizations (CBOs), education, and other workforce stakeholders to serve disadvantaged communities and underrepresented populations in delivering workforce development recruitment, training, and retention programming.
  • Engaging employers towards strategic co-investment and long-term partnerships in workforce development with community stakeholders.
  • Organizing in-person convenings and regular touchpoints with stakeholders to advance priorities.
• Strategic workforce opportunity and gap analyses
  • Identifying major upcoming workforce needs in the energy sector in the assigned Target Geography and assessing existing workforce programs that will serve as pathways to those jobs.
  • Identifying and assessing existing services and opportunities for minority- and women-owned business enterprises to contract on major energy projects.

Financial Support

Stipend and other benefits are commensurate with experience and location. Fellows will be administered by ORISE. This position is not a government position.

If you have questions about RAMP, please contact Anne McMonigle at anne.mcmonigle@hq.doe.gov.

Qualifications

To be considered, you must meet the following eligibility requirements at the time of application:

• Be a US Citizen.
• Be at least 18 years old.
• Meet one of the following educational conditions:
  • Be enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student at an accredited institution of higher education.
  • Have completed an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctorate degree in an area related to the subject matter of the Community Workforce Fellowship.
  • Be a U.S. military Veteran who has been honorably discharged and/or who has been medically discharged because of a service-connected disability that has at least a high school diploma or equivalent, or a college degree in an appropriate science, technology, engineering, or mathematics discipline within ten years.
  • Have completed a qualifying certificate program in an appropriate science, technology, engineering, or mathematic discipline within one year of the application deadline. The certificate should relate to or complement a prior degree earned (bachelor’s degree or higher) and must be offered by an accredited academic institution.

Ideal applicants may come from a wide range of backgrounds (e.g., organized labor, community organizing, workforce development, social work, public education, energy, etc.) and possess the following qualifications:

• Demonstrated commitment to advancing economic policy that expands opportunity and centers empowerment for underrepresented populations and disadvantaged communities.
• Understanding of workforce development, labor organizing, education and other labor market topics.
• Demonstrated understanding of the major emerging clean energy investments and industries in their region.
• Ability to lead and facilitate dialogue to identify community needs, opportunities, and pathways to solutions, with keen interest in building these skills.
• Experience with and deep understanding of how to seek and leverage federal, state, and local funding opportunities.
• Experience seeking and leveraging private funds to support workforce activities and program (including philanthropic funds) and broaching the topic of employer co-investment in workforce development.
• Demonstrated commitment to advancing workforce pathways that lead to good quality jobs with career mobility potential.  At a minimum, demonstrated understanding of effective workforce development strategies that calibrate training to demand and work to place qualified graduates in gainful employment, with a strong interest in building these skills.
• Flexibility, curiosity, and mindset that pursues continuous learning.
• Enthusiasm for broadening pathways and inclusive access to good quality jobs in the clean energy transition.
• Strong initiative-taker who can drive projects independently, while accepting guidance.
• Commitment to building big, inclusive tables that give space for underrepresented populations and disadvantaged communities’ perspectives to be heard and incorporated into collective plans.

How to Apply

A complete application consists of: 

Completed Profile and including the following program specific questions:

• What relevant experience will you bring to this Fellowship? What is your experience with organizing and coalition building with a diverse group of stakeholders?
• What led you to apply for a Community Workforce RAMP Fellowship at this point in your professional development?
• What skills do you seek to attain and what goals do you wish to accomplish? How will this Fellowship help you and your community to achieve those goals?
• What opportunities do you see for expanding access to quality jobs on clean energy projects in your Target Geography?
• How would you encourage the coalitions you help build under RAMP to mobilize from the planning and development phase to action/roll out?
• Describe the need in the Target Geography for the Community Workforce RAMP and discuss how RAMP could address existing gaps, barriers, and/or needs of the Target Geography as they relate to jobs in the energy sector.
• A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, and relevant experiences.
• One Recommendation - Applicants are required to provide contact information for at least one recommender in order to submit the application. You are encouraged to request a recommendation from a professional who can speak to your abilities and potential for success as well as your scientific capabilities and personal characteristics. Recommendation requests must be sent through the Zintellect application system. Recommenders will be asked to complete a recommendation through Zintellect. Letters of recommendation submitted via email will not be accepted.

All documents must be submitted via Zintellect in order to be considered and must be in English or include an official English translation. Submitted documents must have all social security numbers, student identification numbers, and/or dates of birth removed (blanked out, blackened out, made illegible, etc.) prior to uploading into the application system. 

If you have questions, please send an email to DOE-RPP@orau.org. Please list the reference code for this opportunity, DOE-STP-RAMP-2024, in the subject line of your email. 

Review and Selection of Applications

DOE will review applications to determine which applicants to interview thereafter. Fellows and Host Organizations will be selected after interviews are complete. Individuals who are selected by the DOE selection committee will be paired with a DOE-selected Host Organization within a Target Geography. It is reasonable to expect that Host Organization and Fellows will be geographically paired, as preference will be given to Fellows with regional ties and connections. Applications that best reflect and support local communities in the Target Geography and that best align with major emerging clean energy investments or geographically clustered investments are preferred.  DOE reserves the right to extend or reopen the application period. 

Selected candidates will be required to provide documentation to verify their academic status before the appointment can start.

Nature of the Appointment

Participants will not enter into an employee/employer relationship with ORISE, ORAU, the DOE, or any other office or agency. Instead, the participant will be affiliated with ORISE for the administration of the appointment through the ORISE appointment letter and Terms of Appointment.

Eligibility Requirements

• Citizenship: U.S. Citizen Only
• Degree: Associate's Degree, Bachelor's Degree, Master's Degree, or Doctoral Degree.
• Discipline(s):
  • Business (11 )
  • Chemistry and Materials Sciences (12 )
  • Communications and Graphics Design (6 )
  • Computer, Information, and Data Sciences (17 )
  • Earth and Geosciences (21 )
  • Engineering (27 )
  • Environmental and Marine Sciences (14 )
  • Life Health and Medical Sciences (51 )
  • Mathematics and Statistics (11 )
  • Other Non-Science & Engineering (13 )
  • Physics (16 )
  • Science & Engineering-related (2 )
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences (30 )
• Age: Must be 18 years old by 6/30/2024
• Veteran Status: Veterans Preference, degree received within the last 120 month(s).