It’s no secret that baby boomers are retiring—leaving a knowledge gap in virtually every occupation, including those in the energy industry. The Center for Energy Workforce Development estimates that nearly 50 percent of energy industry employees will retire in the next five to 10 years.
That’s putting a lot of pressure on utilities to find qualified applicants. It also means tackling challenges that have made it harder for local gas companies to fill jobs in recent years.
The first challenge is getting the attention of the future workforce. Jackie Malatesta, senior specialist, operations and engineering services at the American Gas Association, said utility work falls behind in the competition with emerging industries.
“We have to do a better job of selling ourselves—to students, veterans, people of color, women—and those vying for a job in the energy industry. We need to let them know that we have stable, good-paying jobs, that we have career potential, and that we are committed to a workforce that represents the communities we serve,” Malatesta said.
“And we have to get that message to students when they’re young, so they can develop the basic skills for the energy field,” she added. Research shows that students who are exposed to technical and career classes tend to remain in school longer, too.
That’s why utilities across the country are working within their communities to prepare the next generation of employees.
“We provide energy to the greatest city in the world.”
Rebecca Lynch, director of talent management, learning and inclusion at Con Edison, sees that fact as both a huge responsibility and a tremendously exciting opportunity. She is effusive about Energy Tech, her company’s partnership with National Grid and New York City educational institutions.
Energy Tech students start as high school freshmen and continue for six years through associate degrees. Lynch said, “Our students will leave Energy Tech as skilled candidates on a ladder of career growth in the field of energy or as competitive applicants for a four-year college.”
Energy Tech evolved from a request by the New York Department of Education, which asked the companies for help preparing students for the energy industry. This offered both utilities their first connection to high school students—helping them get on teenagers’ radar screens early enough to prepare for utility careers.
Lynch said that while “sexy” was never a word associated with utilities in the past, it is now. “Energy is central to everyone’s life. And it’s no longer limited to working at a power plant or on a pipeline. There’s so much more involved in our businesses that we want people to know about.”
Kamaj Bailey, recruitment project specialist at Con Edison, said the utilities created high school and community college curricula focusing on engineering tracks. They also take an active role with the students, providing monthly mentoring sessions on workplace skills and the utility business, offering site-specific tours and hiring interns for summer and spring sessions.
About 50 percent of the participants are chosen at random through the city schools’ high school selection lottery. The remaining students are selected to ensure demographic diversity for the future workforce.
Bailey said the program tries to balance income levels and academic status, including kids who have lagged in schools up to this point. About 70 percent of the students are eligible for the school lunch program. The bulk of the students are Hispanic, black and Asian, and about 24 percent are female.
Students who pass qualifying exams are welcome to apply for utility jobs in the physical workforce directly out of high school, Bailey said. “But we encourage those who can to complete the two-year program and apply for our entry-level technician titles or go on to four-year schools.”
Two classes of Energy Tech participants have graduated from high school, and in 2019, the first set of students will complete community college.
So far, so great.
What do a young stand-up comic and a 20-something stay-at-home mom have in common?
They both recently graduated from the Nicor Gas Career Academy with the expectation that Nicor Gas employment is in their immediate future.
The academy is a partnership between the Quad County Urban League, which specializes in screening and job training, and Nicor Gas, Illinois’ largest natural gas utility. The two, along with Nicor Gas’ contracting partner NPL Construction, have teamed up to bring ready-to-work individuals to entry-level utility jobs.
Twenty-one of the 25 participants in the inaugural cohort completed the six-week program, which began in late August 2018. As of this writing, Nicor Gas has hired 13 graduates, with the hiring still in progress. NPL Construction has hired another two.
The academy starts out with safety discussions, and it incorporates a “safety moment” into every day of the program. Students receive training in gas operations, core math and technology. They learn basic workplace and employability skills and hear advice on personal and professional development and financial literacy. And they shadow Nicor Gas employees to get a better idea of the day-to-day tasks the work involves.
The academy prepares participants for entry-level work in the call center and for meter-reading positions, which also involve conducting inside leak surveys, corrosion inspections and other tasks. Nicor Gas is transitioning away from meter reading, and in the future, the comparable entry-level position will be utility specialist.
QCUL recruited aggressively through community colleges, churches, social service agencies and high schools (the minimum participation age is 18). The graduating class is primarily African-American, with 11 men and 10 women.
“We’re looking for employees who really want to be with us, to build a career in which they can spend the next 30 years,” said Margi Schiemann, director of community affairs at Nicor Gas. Through the Urban League’s outreach and what students learn in the program, they realize, “This is hard work, but it’s rewarding work with rewarding pay.”
“Many of the students have made sacrifices to participate,” she said. One had to move all his community college classes to afternoons and evenings to attend the academy’s morning sessions. Two warehouse workers switched their hours, working all night and showing up at class at 9 a.m. “Several even quit their jobs, and one mom had to find day care,” Schiemann said.
“We, in turn, made a financial investment in these students as well, providing staff resources to facilitate training and hands-on experiences. And it worked out so well, with the number of hires telling the story,” she said. “We’re planning two cohorts in 2019, and many in the company hope we can move to three a year.”
Established in Baltimore in 1816, BGE was the nation’s first gas utility. After 200 years, the company is profoundly committed to the people of Baltimore. So, as a keystone of its recruitment program, BGE set out to connect young Baltimore residents with utility jobs.
Robert Matthews is director of talent management and talent acquisition at BGE. After consulting with his Baltimore City school district contact, he decided to take his utility’s goals directly to the people who could help most: Baltimore’s Career Technology Education teachers.
When he spoke at a teacher’s meeting, he was surprised—and moved—by the response.
“I told them about our company, and I told them we have jobs for their students.”
The teachers replied: “We’ve been waiting for you! We are happy to prepare students for your jobs. But more importantly, we need you to talk to them, to encourage them. We need you to tell them how important it is to stay in school, how their high school education and training can lead to great jobs and careers.”
The teachers’ words inspired Matthews to make a long-term commitment to Baltimore’s students. That led to the creation of the Smart Energy Workforce Development program, a partnership between the school district and BGE. In 2018, 50 CTE high school students participated in the third class of interns.
BGE designed the program with two goals in mind. The first is to make sure the company always has a pool of qualified, competent and enthusiastic applicants. The second is to make sure BGE’s workforce reflects the Baltimore community. So, the company targeted nearby technical high schools where it didn’t already have an active partnership.
As with all utilities, BGE’s big challenge is to make sure a wide range of potential employees are aware of the career opportunities available to skilled, work-ready individuals. So, the company starts by meeting with students in their sophomore and junior years to talk about utility jobs and long-term careers. The Smart Energy Workforce Development program focuses on students already engaged in computer-aided design or CAD, construction, automotive technology and pre-engineering coursework.
In their junior year, students are invited for day visits to shadow employees and learn more about the utility. Interested students apply for summer internships, which can continue into their senior years, if schedules permit. BGE also offers transit passes for students working at the company’s Baltimore facility and provides shuttles to those interning at locations outside the city so a lack of transportation doesn’t limit who can participate.
BGE relies on teachers in the classroom to provide the technical information and training that the students need in their chosen fields. During their internship, BGE personnel take over, helping students learn the skills necessary to be successful in a business environment. These include both soft skills (such as working on teams and finding the courage to express ideas) and technical skills, building on classroom teaching. They also learn about the energy business, issues affecting utilities and the company values.
Matthews said he has also learned that BGE employees who are working with interns benefit from proper training on working with teenagers and supervising novices. “They are used to working in a fast-paced organization, so it takes them a while to understand their role is to teach, to prepare,” rather than to expect the students to crank out work at the rate of experienced employees.
BGE hired three students from the first year’s program and nine from the second year’s program, and it expects to hire additional full-time employees from the most recent internship class.
Reflecting on his first conversation with the teachers, Matthews said, “We heard a call to get involved, to invest our employees and our resources. From here, we have to be prepared to stay connected, to stay involved. It is not just the work of our hands and our heads. Our hearts are involved, too. We want to be a part of these students’ success and their careers.”
Natural gas utility workers of the future might be better prepared than any past generation for workplace protocol, company goals and changing technology as local companies are reaching out to get young people excited about energy jobs—and to make sure they have the basic skills to assume current and future positions.
Several features make these recruitment and training programs successful and sustainable:
As utilities must bid farewell to the baby boomers, they’re now reaching out to Generation Z, in addition to millennials, to keep their systems safe and their businesses healthy. These generations are accepting—and meeting—the challenge.