About The Program

This Kingston-based internship program currently involves 4 weeks of rotating between different types of hands-on building training (including solar panel installation, home sealing, weatherization, electrical maintenance and installation, and learning how to do an energy audit). Benefits of the program include hands-on experience, forging relationships with highly-respected local contractors, the opportunity to apply for continued on-the-job training through Ulster County, and the opportunity to earn a micro-credential from SUNY Ulster that is specially designed for this program. Accepted applicants will be compensated at the rate of $15/hour for 24 hours on-site work/week and three hours of additional online training/week.

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History

On September 8, 2020, Citizens for Local Power (CLP) welcomed eight interns to launch the first Empower Kingston Green Jobs Internship Program. CLP plans to hold new Empower Kingston Green Jobs Internship Program sessions in May and September 2021.  

The diverse group of interns in the first program came from Kingston, New Paltz, Rhinebeck, and Saugerties. Thanks to the group of committed local contractors and specialists who showed them the ropes at their worksites and in online classes, each intern received a once-in-a-lifetime chance to explore the burgeoning field. For four weeks, the interns experienced different facets of our fast-changing energy system, spending three days a week working on job sites with a local contractor and two days attending classes.

Local contractors Anthony Aebi (Greenhill Contracting), Joe McDole (J’S Painting Service), building analyst Judith Karpova, and Marie Mazzucco (SunCommon) worked with CLP to plan the program. Scott and Marie Arnold (RYCOR) and Joe Gentile (Capitol Electric) joined them to provide onsite working experience in their specialties. 

 The interns earned $15/hour for their onsite and classroom work. They each received tools and steel-toed boots for protection. An anonymous donor provided funding for the pilot program.

 At the end of the program, having gotten a solid overview of the field, the interns moved on to decide their next steps, with the advice and support of Ulster County, the Green Careers Academy at SUNY Ulster, BOCES, and Cornell Cooperative Extension.

"Having the opportunity to rotate with several contractors enabled us to get a broad-ranging experience and was useful for discovering the right area of Green Jobs to work in," an intern said.