As a certified Apprenticeship Readiness Program for careers in the union construction trades, Opportunity Build teaches you skills employers need. The program begins with 10-12 weeks of hands-on training at our Oakland facility and offers 12 months of one-on-one job placement and retention support.
Access to
learning
success
a career
a voice
a future
shouldn’t be a privilege
We’re building career pathways for economic equity and climate resilience in the Bay Area and Central California.
Breaking barriers, building careers
“A program like this is an out for a lot of teens, who grew up like me and are first-generation Mexican Americans. I see their parents in the fields or sticking with a certain thing their whole lives because that’s all they’ve known. We’re the ones to break those walls and say, ‘We could do other stuff. We know we don’t need to do that.’ During Green House Calls, people would get emotional because we were helping them reduce their utility bills. I wanted to help because I saw my family in the clients’ place. If we had had a program like this growing up, it would have been a lot of help.”
Neftaly Cervantes
2025 Climate Careers Alum
Programs
With offices in Oakland and Stockton, our workforce development programs specialize in preparing youth, women, and individuals in reentry for high-road careers and green pathways that offer family-sustaining wages.
Opportunity Build
Adult Construction Career Training
Climate Careers
Youth Jobs to Help the Climate
Since 2000, Climate Careers has operated as a highly innovative youth empowerment program, addressing climate change by employing youth to provide energy efficiency services to over 66,000 Northern California households. We train and employ Bay Area and San Joaquin youth to conduct Green House Calls® in their home communities and help them explore careers in green industries.
Green House Calls
Energy and Water Efficiency Support for Homeowners and Renters
Our Climate Careers® program provides energy and water efficiency services, called Green House Calls, to households throughout the Greater Bay Area and City of Stockton. Take part in an in-person or virtual Green House Call by completing our 15-minute online survey to determine your personalized efficiency needs.
Impact
Since our founding in 1994, Rising Sun has operated as a direct service organization supporting people and communities. Today, that includes addressing the systems of inequity that make our work necessary. Our policy efforts drive positive change at the intersection of equity, climate, and jobs, confronting the root causes of poverty in our region.
3,300+
youths and adults served
66,352
homes made more climate resilient and efficient
22
partners convened as members of a High Road Training Partnership
1
collective vision of a just and sustainable future for all people and our planet
What alumni are saying
Before I joined Opportunity Build, my life was all over the place. I was in a family shelter with my children for the last year and a half. I had unstable income and was struggling day-to-day to build myself back up. Now I have a position in the union, as well as stability. I look at my future differently than I did before. Now I have goals that I’m setting in place, and I’m hoping to achieve those goals within the next five to 10 years…and I’m hoping to be able to give back somehow.
Tiffany Clarke
2025 Women Building the Bay Graduate
I regret not applying sooner, because once I had this experience, I realized that it’s something that really will impact you for a lifetime. You’re not just learning about simple things like changing aerators and light bulbs. You’re learning how you can make an impact on the world itself.
Camila Pineda Vazquez
2025 Climate Careers Alum
Rising Sun has been integral in my coming-of-age transition into adulthood. The education I received in my very first job as an Energy Specialist fundamentally shaped my understanding of energy conservation and environmental justice. I look forward to supporting Rising Sun in deepening its impact on the livelihoods and well-being of those most vulnerable to systemic racism in the green sector.
Delrisha White
Board Member and Climate Careers Alum
