Case Study: New England • Design-A-Thon for the Blue Economy

Through the Institute’s 15 years of research we’ve found young adults have really struggled to find links between blue-green jobs and much needed workforce development opportunities like internships, mentors and on-the-job training. In June, the Institute held a Design-A-Thon for the Blue Economy at Innovate Newport in conjunction with the Institute’s Summit on the Blue Economy. We brought together leaders of the Blue Economy in New England – from CEOs, to Newport’s Mayor and academic institutions to engage in a deep exploration to shape the design of the Institute’s Sustainable Workforce Development Network (SWDN). The key takeaway of the Design-A-Thon was the major increase of jobs in the emerging Blue Economy and lack of information available to young people about these jobs which prevents them from pursuing blue career pathways.