In fact, consortium members such as OPEL International, whose Shelton facility produces solar products, acknowledge having to bring in interns from Europe to staff their companies. Others are giving incentives to encourage more of the local population to consider energy careers. Northeast Utilities, for instance, provides full scholarships for students in Naugatuck Valley Community College’s electrical engineering technology program, and UI has a scholarship program for students pursuing degrees in electric power engineering.
Critical mass
As part of his economic stimulus package, President Obama has proposed billions of dollars in federal money for individual states’ infrastructure improvements—on the condition that projects are “shovel-ready,” or able to be implemented within 180 days.
“By mobilizing partners in industry, education, and government, the Connecticut Energy Workforce Development Consortium is preparing to respond to
a challenge of this scope,” says Judy Resnick, director of workforce development for CBIA’s Education Foundation. “We are experiencing rapid growth in alternative fuel and green technologies and rising demands for traditional energy. If Connecticut is going to build and maintain infrastructure and develop new technologies in electric, solar, wind, fuel cell, and nuclear energy,” she says, “we need to recruit and train a workforce capable of the job.”
Connecticut is not alone in the energy workforce crisis: 15 states have already established energy workforce consortiums; another four are in the planning phase.
The consortium concept started with the nonprofit Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD), a Washington, D.C.-based group of electric, natural gas, and nuclear utilities and their associations. Connecticut’s newly formed consortium is the first of its kind in New England. At its second meeting, held Jan. 28, CEWD director Ann Randazzo led a discussion of national trends in energy workforce development. If you are interested in joining or learning more, contact Judy Resnick.
For new consortium, energy jobs are hot topic
By Lesia Winiarskyj
CBIA writer/editor
Growing a skilled workforce for the energy sector is the goal of the new Connecticut Energy Workforce Development Consortium, which had its first meeting in December at CBIA’s offices. Members include executives from traditional and alternative energy companies, manufacturers of energy-related products, workforce investment boards, and representatives from technical high schools, community colleges, and universities.
The group seeks to meet the future workforce needs of Connecticut’s energy industry by
• clearly defining their needs
• building awareness of the demand for energy personnel in the state
• generating a sense of excitement around the industry
• improving training programs to closely align classroom learning with workplace requirements
• creating pathways to continuing education, certification, and employment for high-school and college graduates
Discussions at December’s meeting identified several specific shortage areas (engineers, technicians, project managers) and best practices for attracting, training, and retaining employees—for example, through scholarships, internships, and effective knowledge transfer from baby boomers to younger workers.
Aging infrastructure, workers
By some estimates, the average employee in the energy industry today is almost 10 years older than the average American worker. As significant numbers of boomers reach retirement age, maintaining an adequate, knowledgeable workforce has emerged as a critical issue facing the traditional energy industry. Traditional energy suppliers—some of whom project losing half of their workforce within five years—include nuclear, fossil fuel, gas, and electric utilities.
At the same time a large number of utilities workers prepare to retire, the demand for clean, affordable, reliable energy—including alternative and renewable sources—is on the rise. Those trends, combined with anticipated upgrades, expansion, and maintenance of Connecticut’s electric utility system, are expected to stimulate a wave of job opportunities, says consortium cochair Tom Burns, director of training for Northeast Utilities.
Cochair Joe Ryzewski, electric system competency manager for United Illuminating (UI), concurs and adds, “We need to construct a pipeline, starting in the elementary grades through college, that encourages students to explore careers in energy-related industries. We need a concerted effort to not only teach the fundamentals of math and science but also provide experiential learning that equips young people with the competencies we require. Presently, such local programs and candidates are scarce.”
