Planning for the Long-Term

Blueprint for Just Transition

How to Replace Lost Jobs

Job loss is often the top-of-mind issue for communities in transition. While the search for suitable re-employment will likely be a struggle in the short term, there are many ways to ensure long term success for transitioning workers. As always, the earlier a community begins to explore alternative employment for coal miners or power plant workers (well before a mine or plant actually closes), the smoother the transition will be.

‍Look at skills, not just positions: Skills from one kind of industry might transition well to something that seems entirely different on the surface. For example, many former coal mine or power plant machine operators may have the skills to translate easily into manufacturing, alternative energies, or technology jobs. What are the skill sets in your community?‍
Pay attention to workforce development and employment policies: A new great idea for job creation may get a big boost from existing policies at the state or federal level—or may by stymied by them. Take a look at the policies that surround employment in your area, and be ready to take advantage of those that support your work, and advocate to change those that don’t.
‍Think beyond your own borders: Some of the most promising economic development strategies are those that connect towns and cities within geographic regions. Think of how the systems for food, water, recreation, conservation, energy and other shared needs might be addressed on a regional level, and how they might translate into community jobs.
‍Prepare workers for the jobs of tomorrow: This applies to both adults transitioning from coal-related jobs and to students preparing to enter the workforce. Look carefully at the needs of affected workers and the needs of future employers, then identify ways to close any gaps. (As mentioned above, consider gaps in terms of skills rather than industries. The gaps may not be as wide as you think.)
‍Support entrepreneurs: From small one-person shops to fast-growing start-ups, there are many creative and visionary ideas for businesses in transitioning coal communities. What are the things your community can do to support these new ideas? Look for ways to connect local entrepreneurs to capital, resources, research and other supports that can help them grow.

Quick Case

Coalfield Development

Coalfield Development builds jobs with a focus on relationships. It’s a longer-term approach designed to create a sustainable path forward for communities emerging from coal-dependent economies.

We work with people for two-and-a-half or three years, or longer,” says Marilyn Wrenn, Chief Development Officer. “It’s not a quick process. The communities we work in often don’t have employers. Instead, we use our own social enterprises to work with individuals until they finish their associate degree or have a long-enough employment span with us that they’ve developed deep, highly transferable skills that are in demand across the region.”

Coalfield Development takes a three-pronged approach to transition work. One is real estate development, developing the physical assets in a community. The second is social enterprise, offering jobs for workers in construction, agriculture, or solar that in turn deliver positive benefits for the community, such as affordable housing or increased access to healthy foods. The third prong is a focus on the development of people, through the attainment of an associate degree or higher. Participants take part in a “33-6-3” plan: 33 hours of work, 6 hours of course credit toward a post-high-school degree, and 3 hours of personal development each week.

For example, in Williamson, WV, a town with a long history of low employment, high opioid use, and little redevelopment activity, Coalfield Development worked in partnership with a physician and social entrepreneur who wanted to create a Federally Qualified Healthcare Center there. Coalfield Development leveraged that opportunity to bring in its construction and agriculture social enterprises, and hired several local people for each effort.

Construction crews worked redeveloping two downtown spaces for a community gym and a meeting area, as well as increasing space for the new health center.

In addition to construction, crew members learned valuable historic preservation skills in the process.

Several folks involved with those crews went on to pursue associate degrees and were hired by other employers,” says Wrenn. “Some did leave the area, and some transitioned to other crews.”

Coalfield’s agricultural enterprise, Refresh Appalachia, began working on a 400-acre former surface mining site to explore options for raising animals and crops. The remote nature of the site proved to be too much of a challenge, so instead the agricultural crew returned to Williamson to develop community greenhouses. Now, they are creating a commercial initiative to deliver fresh food to diabetes patients. Produce that’s not used within the community is sold to another partner, a food aggregator.

“They created an asset in an area that’s a food desert,” says Wrenn.

One key to Coalfield Development’s success is its ability to adapt to the needs and interests of both communities and employers. Although the social enterprise model is a constant, the kinds of training and product or service it delivers can change.

“We know just going into a community and saying ‘we’re here to help’ doesn’t work,” says Wrenn. “We will always engage with local partners and figure out how to meet them where they are, then figure out solutions combining our three areas. We are trying to build on the skills people already possess. Appalachians are good at fixing things, building things and growing things.”

This kind of flexibility is better than all or nothing, according to Wrenn, because it helps people see that they have options—which in turn combats hopelessness. That’s what unlocks creativity and lets’ people see what can be done.

For example, “We’ve not yet found a need or partner for fixing drones, say, but if someone did, we might look at what setting up an enterprise for training drone repairers might look like, and what the outcomes would be.”

Unlocking creativity in times of trauma is a value that is deeply embedded in the work at Coalfield Development.

“We talk openly about that with our crew members and engage with them about how they see things and encourage them to talk to others in the community,” says Wrenn. “That’s really intentional. Those who work with us become ambassadors of the community transition, ushering in the new sense of hope.”

Blueprint for Just Transition

Planning for the long-term

How to Replace Lost Jobs

Back to Long-Term Planning