The Federal Government, the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), and utility industry groups have joined forces to create the Utility Industry Workforce Initiative, a multi-year effort dedicated to facilitating the recruitment, training, and retention of exiting service members, veterans, and their spouses into employment in the utility industry.

 

According to the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD), the electric utility industry will need to replace almost half of its current workforce over the next decade.

 

“Our industry is facing significant retirements of our existing workforce, and we are working together to develop solutions and approaches to identify a talented, high-skill ed, and innovative industry workforce for the future,” says EEI President Tom Kuhn. “The leadership abilities, mission focus, commitment to safety, and team orientation that military service members consistently demonstrate are exactly the skills our industry needs in its workers. We are pleased to work together with our government partners on the Utility Industry Workforce Initiative with the goal to provide veterans a path to rewarding energy careers.”

 

In addition to EEI and CEWD, other participants in the Initiative include the Departments of Energy, Defense, Labor, and Veterans Affairs; the Nuclear Energy Institute; the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association; and the American Gas Association. EEI is the association that represents all US investor owned electric companies.

 

The initiative will work to identify and promote training and credentialing opportunities for veterans to facilitate their entry into the utility industry; share information on trends about exiting military members; promote opportunities for immediate recruitment of exiting service members; and assess how military training requirements align with job requirements throughout the utility industry. It will also work to improve existing tools that match service members and veterans with employment opportunities in the utility industry.

 

The Department of Labor, through its nearly 2,500 American Job Center network nationwide (www.servicelocator.org), will provide support and a direct connection to local veterans seeking training, skills upgrades, and employment in the energy sector and to employers looking to hire veterans. DOL will also provide guidance to the initiative in matching military occupation codes with credentialing opportunities in the utility sector and expanding training capacity available through the existing community college and career training grant structure. The Department of Veterans Affairs will leverage the local reach and resources of its Veterans Economic Communities Initiative to connect transitioning Service members, Veterans and their families with training and employment opportunities in the utility industry.

 

"This Administration continues to find exciting new ways to extend richly deserved ladders of opportunity to our veterans," says US Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "With the Utility Workforce Council, Secretary Moniz and the energy industry are showing bold, innovative leadership, and we will deploy the resources and expertise of the Labor Department and the workforce system to help ensure its success."

 

This new initiative complements the Troops to Energy Jobs program, which was launched by CEWD in 2011 .