PATHWAYS UNITED LLC — Department of Energy SBIR Phase I: 10b

Description

People of color and minority business enterprises are not participating in the bioenergy sector, and they lack clear access to bioenergy employment and business opportunities. There is a labor shortage in the bioenergy sector, and there is an enormous equity gap for minorities. There has been a lack of representation for people of color, who have long faced entry barriers into the energy efficiency and renewable energy fields. Investing in workforce and training programs is crucial. There are no readily available, proven training solutions that bridge from current skill sets to possible women/minority/disadvantaged business enterprises opportunities and workforce training in bioenergy. The workforce training will leverage community participation and extensive community engagement in black and brown communities to include existing women/minority/disadvantaged business enterprises to leverage their skills and find a pathway into bioenergy. The workforce training delivers the bioenergy curricula and training that meet the participants' learning style using artificial intelligence, adaptive learning, and state-of-the-art brain-wave synaptic testing to understand how the participant learns and trains best. The learning algorithms are integrated into the training modules, and an individualized training regimen is curated. The program will deliver assessments and evaluations throughout, which analyze the effectiveness of training and program. The team will use the data for Phase II, where participants will be followed to understand the percentage of participants who successfully transition to bioenergy jobs and business start-ups. The program will deliver a smart technology workforce platform for the bioenergy industry. The platform uses artificial intelligence, brain-based synaptic learning, adaptive learning, and advanced scientific visualization to enhance opportunities for people of color and minority/women/disadvantage business enterprises to enter the bioenergy fields. The unique concept will prove to be of particular interest to the bioenergy sector because of the need for a skilled workforce due to the industry demand and subcontracting participation goals. The primary customers would be utility and energy companies, advances manufacturing companies, biomass companies, and bioenergy companies.