Workforce Transition
Moving Beyond Gas
The historic ruling by the Mass. Department of Public Utilities in Order 20-80 laid out a regulatory strategy for a future “beyond gas.” This means that the adoption of geothermal networks is poised to grow—both here in Massachusetts and nationwide—coupled with a strong growth in the demand for skilled labor, including drillers, pipe fitters, and many others.
HEET is committed to supporting and facilitating the development of a workforce that is ready to meet the coming need, and to advocating for the equitable inclusion of labor in this transition.
Minimal Retraining for Gas Pipe Workers
Gas pipes and water pipes are made of the same material, high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Thus existing workers can transfer their skills to the clean energy economy with minimal retraining.
A National Network of Geothermal Drilling Centers of Excellence
Read the Geothermal Market Capacity Coalition's white paper on establishing regional Geothermal Drilling Centers of Excellence (Geo-CoEs), beginning in the Northeast, that work to relieve the shortage of geothermal drillers and drill rigs needed to produce ground heat exchangers.
Geothermal Driller Tutorial
Addressing a shortage of skilled geothermal drillers to meet the growing need as geothermal networks scale, HEET offered a free, two-week geothermal drilling tutorial in the Boston area in September 2024. The tutorial (a collaboration between HEET, Geothermal Drillers Association, and International Ground Source Heat Pump Association) was intended to position trainees to join as 'field technicians' and lead in this important, growing workforce. Now, seven pioneering students are engaging with geothermal career opportunities.
The organizations collaborating in this trial will take some time to incorporate improvements learned through the pilot. In the meantime, feel free to reference the pilot's flyer, overview and sample curriculum. We would be delighted to answer any questions at workforce@heet.org.
Interested in joining the next geothermal drilling tutorial program? If so, please fill out this form.
Labor Roles and Training Time for Geothermal Networks
Below is a partial list of jobs in the networked geothermal industry and approximate training times.
1-2 months if already a journey worker
< 1 week for ASHP trained or furnace installers & AC
New recruit: 3-4 months classwork, 4 yrs apprenticeship
Connect with HEET
If you are with a union, college, university, pre-apprenticeship or other workforce development organization that is a stakeholder in this transition, we’d love to hear from you! Please email workforce@heet.org.
