Meet Jasmine Thai, a graduate of LISC Massachusetts’s Bridges to Green Jobs program supported by TD Bank, an experience that helped her secure an entry-level weatherization job with high-income potential in a growing industry. “If I didn't go through this program, I would have never gotten that job,” said Thai.
Jasmine Thai was born and raised in Boston. It’s a place where she and others in her Vietnamese-American community want to stay, but the cost of living—and of energy bills—continue to surge, as they do in cities across the country. Today, a new career as a weatherization technician makes Thai feel like she’s doing her part to help her family and neighbors remain in the city they love.
“I just think about all the people living in these old homes and not having good heating and cooling, and probably not living the best quality life,” Thai said of what drives her to work in weatherization. “I can't put money in people's pockets, but I can improve someone's life by changing their housing air quality and reducing their energy bills, while helping the planet.”
Thai got her start in weatherization through LISC Massachusetts’s Bridges to Green Jobs. Supported by TD Bank, the program provides two weeks of intensive technical and soft skills training before placing trainees with employers for paid, on-the-job training. Bridges to Green Jobs is designed to create opportunities for underrepresented communities in the clean energy industry and help trainees prepare for entry-level weatherization jobs with high-income potential and access to a growing career ladder.
Thai has been working as a weatherization technician since last September. It was hard at first, being a woman in a field dominated by men, but now, she says, she’s loving it.
“In the beginning, a lot of men were like, ‘What are you doing here?’” Thai said. “But I felt like that pushed me to go harder. I felt like I needed to prove it, not just for them, but for myself.”
The new job didn’t just boost her confidence. It also boosted her income.
“I've never seen this type of money before,” explained Thai, who worked in retail previously. “It comes so fast, and it can leave even quicker. I needed help.”
Fortunately, Bridges to Green Jobs also offered Thai a support system to help stay on track, both during and after training. One of the program’s benefits includes a financial coach – a hallmark of LISC’s Financial Opportunity Center® model – who works with participants to develop the personal finance skills to make the most of new income, with an emphasis on budgeting, saving and credit building. The program also provides eight weeks of wraparound supports that include transition coaching from a licensed mental health therapist or clinical social worker to help with job retention barriers such as transportation, housing and emergencies. The coaching is paired with monthly financial assistance for the first six months of employment to help address barriers or simply jumpstart a savings account.
“What I really love and appreciate about Bridges to Green Jobs is the support,” said Thai, who remains in touch with the program’s technical trainer, who she can go to anytime for advice. “If I didn't go through this program, I would have never gotten that job. Period.”
Jasmine is one of 60 graduates from LISC Massachusetts’s Bridges to Green Jobs program since it launched in 2022. With funding from TD Bank, LISC has expanded the program in Lawrence, MA and is replicating the model in Detroit and Newark to connect residents in those cities to high-demand, good-paying green jobs.