Both natural gas utilities and transmission pipeline owners are investing in major modernization, upgrade and expansion projects, and these companies that own and operate natural gas pipelines are now facing what might be a record-breaking period of infrastructure investment.
This work demands a highly skilled, enthusiastic workforce prepared to grow and change with the pipeline construction industry, particularly now that the compliance bar has been set higher than ever.
Yet these companies and their construction contractors are encountering major barriers to filling the talent pipeline. First, energy and utility jobs simply aren’t on the radar for many of the people who are looking for careers, so few of them seek information about the industry or pursue appropriate training.
In addition, too many young job seekers are entering the workforce without the basic skills—from math and science to fundamental mechanics—required for today’s jobs. And work on natural gas infrastructure and equipment requires specialized training.
To help address these challenges, the American Gas Association established the Workforce Development Task Force this past fall. Participating natural gas utilities, interstate pipeline operators, contractors and equipment manufacturers met for the first time in September 2016 to discuss common needs and interests.
The Task Force is focused on identifying ways to support members’ workforce needs, including: developing marketing materials to promote the industry as a career of choice; developing model curricula for trade schools and technical colleges; and determining the most effective ways to engage with unions on workforce development.
“AGA’s members are facing the retirement of a generation of career employees. At the same time, the volume of pipeline replacement work has been peaking, so utility members are grappling with the ongoing challenge of securing qualified field personnel, in addition to preparing employees to take on more specialized work,” said AGA Chief Operating Officer Lori Traweek. “This is such a great industry. Great people work in it and we deliver a great service. We need to do a better job getting the word out that the natural gas industry offers an exciting and fulfilling career path.”
Many natural gas utilities already have developed successful strategies and partnerships for filling the talent pipeline. American Gas spoke with three companies to learn how they intend to keep fully staffed during this time of growth and change.
It Takes a Team
Elaine Babcock manages the Division Human Resources teams at Southwest Gas. The teams are on the front line of finding qualified employees to support natural gas operations in three states: Arizona, Nevada and California.
But Babcock said that to be successful, recruiting and developing a qualified pipeline of candidates can’t be the responsibility of HR alone.
“That’s why we created the College Collaboration Committee (C3), representing operations expertise in our three largest service territories,” she said. The committee works with schools and community service providers to prepare students for utility jobs.
In addition to skill gaps left by retirees, new regulations kick-started Southwest Gas’ decision to dedicate substantial resources to training and outreach. Brittany Schmidt, distribution engineer and C3 co-chair, said, “For example, rules calling for secondary inspections on pipe joining meant we needed to double the number of pipe joiners. That made us think harder about how we could find enough qualified people.”
Adding another layer of urgency to the search for qualified workers, Southwest Gas is planning extensive infrastructure improvements. That means both the company and its contractors will need more skilled employees.
Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona, had developed an energy-oriented curriculum in cooperation with utilities and other businesses. Then, in 2015, with Southwest Gas’ support, the college launched a natural gas certification program.
To develop course content and keep it updated requires an ongoing commitment across the company. The technical training team prepares the curricula. Retirees and a current field supervisor earned certification to teach. HR and Communications personnel apply their outreach expertise, along with tools prepared by the Center for Energy Workforce Development (see “A Workforce Partner,” page 34) to connect with prospective students.
The certification program can lead to an associate degree and eventually a bachelor’s degree in construction management. The immediate benefit to Southwest Gas is that students who complete the coursework are knowledgeable about the gas industry and ready to demonstrate their qualifications for pipeline work.
Southwest Gas replaces about 50 entry-level employees in construction and customer service every year. The company is increasingly confident it can consistently find qualified people ready to step in.
“We are always looking for talented individuals to join our family, and we are committed to offering innovative training and educational opportunities for individuals pursuing a career within the natural gas industry,” said Sharon Braddy-McKoy, vice president of Human Resources. “Southwesters who join our team with existing knowledge about the industry are better set for a successful future.”
“Pima’s natural gas program allows Southwest Gas and its contractors to bring employees to the team who have been educated and trained locally with a true commitment to building careers in the industry,” said Julie Williams, Southern Arizona Division vice president.
Building on the Tucson program’s success and through collaboration with other colleges, Southwest Gas expects to kick off certification programs in Phoenix and Las Vegas in 2017-18.
“Colleges hold the classes, but they’re not utility experts. And they don’t have a lot of money for specialized tools and equipment,” Babcock said. “So, a successful partnership means a utility must make a substantial, long-term commitment to make sure the colleges have the resources they need to train our workforce.”
Reaching Out in All Directions
Alliant Energy knows that marketing—whether to advertise a service or to attract new employees—takes targeted effort. That’s why Jennifer Emmons, Alliant’s manager of Talent Acquisition, emphasizes diversity in the company’s recruiting approach.
As with any other promotional effort today, online tools are central to reaching prospective employees—especially millennials. Connecting with them starts with having an attractive, easy-to-use website. “About 30 percent of our applicants come in through the website,” Emmons said.
Other social media—specifically Facebook and Twitter—play a big role in spreading the word. So do career-oriented sites such as LinkedIn, targeting candidates who otherwise might not apply. The job search site Glassdoor provides current and former employees with a forum to rate their experience anonymously on topics such as the work environment, the interview process, the CEO and compensation.
“Today, more potential applicants are interested in gaining insights and opinions from peers,” Emmons said.
But there’s no substitute for personal relationships. Alliant Energy connects with community organizations throughout Wisconsin and Iowa. Emmons’ team works with local chapters of the Urban League, the YWCA and others to pursue greater racial, gender and age diversity in its workforce. The company also attends career fairs and reaches out to organizations supporting people with disabilities and veterans re-entering the workforce.
Ron Graber, director of Energy Delivery Operational Resources, said, “Alliant Energy’s technical trainers have [also] formed partnerships with educators in both states. Most of our new gas and line employee recruits come out of programs we’ve developed, and they already have a set of transferable skills.”
Outreach includes participating in the Wisconsin Energy Workforce Consortium as members of the CEWD (see “A Workforce Partner,” page 34). The Wisconsin Energy Workforce Consortium is working to increase the number of trained gas technicians within the state. Its recent assessment of supply and demand for these jobs showed a need for more gas technical training programs. Based on this information, the state’s technical colleges are creating two additional programs.
“We’re looking forward to working with a consortium just formed in Iowa to make similar progress in that state,” Graber said.
These efforts are key to the company’s success at keeping critical front-line positions filled and support Alliant Energy’s Aging Workforce Plan, which is its policy of hiring people to fill a position several years before the current employee retires to allow time for training and knowledge transfer.
Many Partners, Many Purposes
Consumers Energy needed 150 new employees to assist the company with a portion of its multibillion-dollar pipeline reliability upgrade. About 4,000 people applied, but very few of them had the necessary basic knowledge to handle the job.
That and other reasons have made it nearly impossible for Consumers Energy to fill high-skill, high-potential utility jobs, according to Dan Malone, the utility’s senior vice president of Energy Resources. Another reason is that skilled workers are often unaware of the benefits and long-term career opportunities available in this industry.
To tackle the problem, Consumers Energy has reached out to a wide range of Michigan-based groups to spread the word about the rewards of an energy career and to help prepare the next generation of Consumers Energy employees:
Energizing Education. The company works with schools statewide to educate children on energy safety and spark interest in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) careers.
Utility Workers Union of America. Consumers Energy works closely with its union partner, which provides foundational skills training, from meter reading to basics of the natural gas system. The union also provides appliance repair training.
Community colleges. Consumers Energy provides experts, including union members, to develop training programs offering basic information about natural gas systems. The company also supports school-to-work programs for its electric business.
Veterans organizations and the military. A new program places recently discharged military personnel into a UWUA basic skills training program. Those who complete the program enter a 90-day internship in which they replace and install mains and services on Consumers Energy’s system. Eighty-five percent of the first trainee class was hired.
For Consumers Energy, preparing a skilled energy workforce goes beyond safe, reliable customer service. Garrick Rochow, senior vice president for Distribution and Customer Operations, said his company considers workforce development essential to Michigan’s ongoing economic recovery and ability to attract new jobs. “We need a skilled workforce to compete for jobs against other states and to attract international business.”
The state of Michigan is one of Consumers Energy’s major partners. In addition to boosting the state’s economy, Rochow said, “Preparing our workforce and creating jobs is one way we can help our communities, community colleges and secondary schools.”
The company’s latest strategy is to develop certification programs that provide prospective employees with basic natural gas knowledge and skills. The program will involve the state, the union, the private sector and community colleges, and be “stackable,” meaning students can add other coursework that could eventually lead to a degree.
Malone said the company’s goal is to spread this training approach to Michigan’s manufacturing sector and the skilled trades.
It’s this kind of multifaceted approach that’s necessary to attract the level of employees that Consumers Energy and other utilities will need to meet aggressive pipeline modernization goals. “First we need to get people excited about utility careers,” Malone said. “Then it’s our job to make sure they’re trained and prepared.”
Ann Randazzo is the executive director of the Center for Energy Workforce Development, a nonprofit consortium that launched in 2006. A major impetus for CEWD was the aging workforce, but that was far from the only motivation.
“We saw the need to create a sustainable pipeline of talent that will be with us for the future and that has the ability to adapt and change,” said Randazzo. “As industry goes through major transformations, we need a workforce that’s transformational as well.”
CEWD members are natural gas and electrical utilities and the trade associations representing them, including AGA. Members recognize that utilities require skills that aren’t common to other industries, so in addition to educating prospective employees about career potential, utilities must involve themselves in training and preparation.
The center develops tools and templates that local utilities can apply in their own service territories. Focuses include:
“Our industry has changed in ways we couldn’t even imagine just a few years ago,” Randazzo said. “We still need to replace a generation that’s ready to retire, but equally important is filling the emerging skills gap. We need employees who will help the nation modernize our infrastructure and provide power from new generating sources.” —C.L.
