As CEO Jon Williams began rapidly growing his company, he knew he’d need a robust workforce. And he also knew that he wanted that employee base to come from the business’ local community on the East Side.

Viridi Parente, located at 1001 East Delevan Ave., Buffalo, has developed both fixed and portable lithium-ion battery storage packs that are capable of storing renewable energy with fail-safe technology for the battery storage system.

“The challenge with our (workforce) system is that access to work is a two-way negotiation: employer and employee,” Williams said. “You have to basically address all the issues that they each have in order for that to be successful.”

After many talks with Jeffrey Conrad, who has worked in workforce development for decades, and meeting with organizations who work with many underrepresented and disenfranchised populations, GreenForce Training Inc. was born in July 2022.

The nonprofit was created to help companies recruit, train and support their workforces. The operations model aims to promote open jobs within the community, craft customized onboarding training that’s specific to the employer, provide case management services for staff who need more support and ensure employees are retained and supported during their first year working.

The only requirement is that applicants want to work and have the capacity to learn. Besides that, people’s backgrounds and work experiences don’t matter…