Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation Director Cynthia R. Lorenzo recently announced that the agency’s Labor Market Statistics Center is conducting the first comprehensive business survey to identify green jobs in Florida.

The Green Jobs Survey is being mailed to nearly 60,000 businesses in Florida. Its results will establish a baseline from which to measure future growth of green industries and jobs in the state.

“Green jobs provide an excellent opportunity to put people back to work in a growing industry as our state continues its economic recovery,” Lorenzo stated in a press release. “With the recent opening of Florida Power and Light’s Desoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, Florida is already home to the largest solar photovoltaic facility in the nation. The results of this inaugural Green Jobs Survey will assist in the expansion of green technology in Florida, the diversification of our economy and the preservation of our valuable natural resources.”

Information from the survey will assist workforce policymakers in setting up training to provide a skilled workforce to support Florida’s expanding green businesses. Florida is among the first states in the nation to conduct a Green Jobs Survey.

The survey defines a green job as one that directly produces green products or directly provides green services in any of the following five green sectors:

• Production or manufacturing of renewable energy.

• Increasing energy efficiency.

• Conservation of natural resources.

• Prevent, reduce and clean up pollution.

• Production of clean transportation and fuels.

The survey was prepared by the agency’s Labor Market Statistics Center with input from partner organizations and is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The survey will ask employers to report on current green jobs within their businesses as well as hiring expectations for next year. Survey results will be published next spring.