Around the United States, utilities are training the next generation of workers for the skills they need today.
It takes a specific skillset to do the job of a utility lineworker who can assist with the management of the poles and wires needed to deliver electricity. It takes a different set of knowledge to know which trees to trim to prevent wildfires. These are the types of jobs that Chicago-based Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) and California’s San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) are training the next generation of workers to do.
On August 19, both SDG&E and ComEd announced that several graduates had completed their respective training academies.
A renewable future
In Chicago, ComEd announced that the first-ever cohort of its new Craft Academy had graduated. The nine newly-trained workers have now demonstrated their knowledge and physical competency to enter the craft workforce, said ComEd. The skills they have acquired will allow them to apply for entry-level positions such as line workers and construction workers.
The Craft Academy is part of ComEd’s plan to grow its workforce to meet the demands of the clean energy transition underway in Illinois.
“The men and women who work above and below ground and across northern Illinois to maintain our grid are essential to the work we do to deliver power safely, reliably and affordably for nine million people in the area we serve,” said Diana Sharpe, Interim Vice President of Workforce Development for ComEd.
ComEd said it wants to bring aboard 500 new entry-level craft positions over the next three years. Graduates of the Craft Academy will develop skillsets that are prioritized in hiring for new frontline jobs at ComEd, including overhead helper positions that ComEd will begin accepting applications for later this month, it said.
During the three-week program, participants were exposed to a range of topics to prepare them for entry-level craft work, which requires knowledge of the skilled trades or construction. Training included: intensive CAST Exam preparation, a requirement for trade and construction jobs; the basics of pole climbing; field lessons taught by ComEd experts; and preparation on STAR method interview coaching. Upon completion, participants received an $800 stipend, in addition to eligibility for scholarships.
ComEd said it worked with local nonprofit and workforce training agency, Insituto del Progreso Latino, to recruit locally for the inaugural training program, which included primarily Black and Latino participants.
The Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) estimates that 2,000 new utility jobs will be created in the Midwest in the next three years alone. Careers in utilities also offer job seekers competitive benefits and pay, with entry level craft roles earning nearly $29 an hour plus benefits.
Fighting wildfires
In California, Utility Line Clearance Arborist Training candidates celebrated their graduation after completing a five-week, 200-hour training program designed to educate an expanded workforce to support tree trimming operations around electric infrastructure across the state. The premise is that once participants complete the training, they become a part of the local Union (IBEW Local 465) and eligible for hire by tree contractors, UTS and Davey.
The training program not only helps create more jobs, it also helps support the prevention of wildfires by ensuring adequate resources are available statewide to perform pruning and removal activities, according to SDG&E. Although graduates are not guaranteed a job after finishing the program, they are certainly in a better position for future employment within the vegetation management industry.
“Over the past five weeks, these graduates have dedicated themselves to learning specialized line clearance skills, from tree safety, climbing and fire protection, to how to identify electrical hazards, and much more,” said chief operating officer and chief safety officer at SDG&E, Kevin Geraghty.
In April SDG&E approved funding through its Wildfire Mitigation Plan for $1.2 million to help fund the Utility Line Clearance Arborist Training program for 3 years.
“We are honored to help support this amazing effort,” added Geraghty.
