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W. Paul Bowers
President, Southern Company Generation
Chairman, UBEC |
When the American Gas Association and the Edison Electric Institute
formed UBEC a decade ago, they charged UBEC with addressing the educational
and workforce development issues that are important to the utility industry. Working
in partnership with utilities, educators and government, UBEC is responding to
that call.
This issue is even more urgent today. Across the country, many utility employees
are nearing retirement age. Companies are encountering difficulty recruiting qualified
young people. Electric and natural gas companies could face major shortages in
key job sectors within five years. With the critical role our industry plays in this
nation's infrastructure, this potential crisis is an issue that ultimately could affect
every facet of American life.
The UBEC Board of Directors recognized that meeting these challenges requires a
strategic approach that actively involves all segments of the industry in a coordinated
results-oriented action plan. We're doing just that.
Last October more than 50 industry leaders met in Atlanta to form the Utility
Workforce Planning Network. Over the past several months, the Utility Workforce
Planning Network Executive Committee and UBEC have worked closely with
our industry trade associations, industry human resource and operating executives,
educators, and other partners to develop a strategic industry workforce development
plan we've entitled, Securing America's Energy Future.
The primary objective of the Securing America's Energy Future project is to
create and develop the national framework needed to ensure that all utilities have
access to high-quality recruitment, education and training opportunities in the
communities they serve.
Here are the key elements of this plan:
Establish the Utility Workforce Planning Network, an alliance of electric and natural gas companies across the United States to address the industry's looming skilled worker shortage.
Develop the Centers of Excellence model partnership initiative with the American Association of Community Colleges to advance the sustainability and replication of best practices.
Implement the elements of UBEC's demand-driven workforce plan to support industry recruitment efforts, education and curriculum development needs, and the broad engagement of key partners in a well-coordinated effort. |
We expect the Securing America's Energy Future initiative and the Workforce
Planning Network to become powerful tools for our industry. But to be successful,
we must have your commitment and participation. You can learn more about
our initiatives in this newsletter. Our strategic approach will effectively create
awareness and interest in utility careers, provide the academic and technical skill
development necessary for our 21st century workforce, and help local
companies recruit and retain young people as our workforce retires. Get involved –
and help us mature these initiatives into a powerful set of resources for utility
companies.
The next decade will be a challenging one as we work to recruit the next generation
of employees. As chairman of UBEC, I am confident that we can play a vital
role in supporting the workforce development needs of electric and natural
gas companies across the country. We invite your full participation and look
forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
W. Paul Bowers
President, Souther Company Generation
Chairman, UBEC
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