As Michigan shifts to renewable energy and a manufacturing shift from ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles to EV (electric vehicles), the Community & Worker Economic Transition Office is rolling out proactive strategies to reduce risks and increase economic impacts for the workers, communities and businesses impacted by this transition.
SCOPE: Other states that have created Just Transition offices have a narrower focus, looking solely at utility or mine closures in a handful of communities with around 2,000 workers. Michigan’s Economic Transition Office has a mandate to address shifts to renewable energy in both the utility and auto sectors, making up more than 20% of the state’s economy.
AMBITION: We want to do more than manage the negative impact of plant closures. Our goal is to create a proactive strategy to tie Michigan’s leadership in renewable energy to our economic and equity goals, creating diversification opportunities in the clean energy sector for manufacturers who may be harmed by the ICE to EV transition.
The Community & Worker Economic Transition Office will ensure that communities, workers, and employers impacted by these transitions have the support they need to proactively prepare for, benefit from, and shape Michigan’s future economy.
We will collaborate with communities to co-create a clear vision for a vibrant, diversified economy and offer deep, embedded support to address the most pressing risks.
Our team will centralize information on regional and federal resources, track initiatives, provide technical assistance and capacity building support to connect communities to resources and centralizing best practices.
We will support workers by increasing awareness of, and decreasing barriers to accessing resources, as well as partnering with community leaders to influence design of new programs that fill gaps.
Workers will be supported by coordination and collaboration with workforce partners, ensuring identified high-risk populations receive proactive outreach.
We will provide employers with proactive direction to relevant funding streams and resources, and transition best practices.
We will share our deep understanding of industry trends, analytics and scenarios to help employers with hiring projections, transitioning best practices, and understanding the broader ecosystem.
We will Create a data-driven central source of truth including perspective on likely economic scenarios and an understanding of long-term risk, regional opportunity and most effective interventions.
Looking at it from every angle, we will:
To ensure every employer, community and worker is up to date with the latest information about the state’s efforts to support Michiganders navigating transitions in the auto and energy sectors, we encourage you to share these resources.
