BGE’s Workforce Collaborative connects job seekers with major contractors
BGE has spearheaded a collaborative program to provide unemployed or underemployed workers in its local community with the skills to work on its gas and electric infrastructure—along with the means to start a utility career and earn a family-sustaining wage.
The BGE Workforce Collaborative, one component of the BGE Smart Energy Workforce Development Program, is offered in partnership with a nonprofit called Civic Works, which recruits and screens participants, provides technical skill and job readiness training, and offers wraparound services to help eliminate employment barriers.
“This investment in our community helps lift everyone while also ensuring there is a continuous talent pipeline that can support BGE’s business needs,” Kristen Bucher, workforce development manager, told American Gas.
At the graduation ceremony for the first Workforce Collaborative class, Richard Steward spoke, representing the class: “I want to thank Civic Works, BGE and the contracting partners for giving us a shot. This is something we really needed, not just for ourselves, but also because we can be a role model for our family, the people who look up to us and people that are in our corner. You’re giving us the chance, and we got our sleeves rolled up. You helped us and guided us on all the right levels, and I’m quite sure that the 13 of us aren’t going to let you down.”
BGE serves as the conduit between its network of gas and electric contractors and Civic Works, and the utility also funds the program and ensures graduates meet the standards necessary to work on its system, Bucher said. After completing the program, participants are interviewed by BGE contractors for entry-level positions.
This program is advertised directly through the nonprofit, and information sessions are held weekly at Civic Works. The program is offered on a rolling basis about every eight weeks.
All 13 of the first graduates have gotten jobs.
“Before the start of the program, the majority of the participants were unemployed and didn’t see any real pathways to meaningful employment. At the end of the program, each of the participants developed a foundation for a long-lasting career and had real opportunities for jobs that provide a meaningful wage,” Bucher said. “In our participants’ words—this opportunity is life-changing.”
For other utilities interested in starting a similar program, BGE offers these tips: