Training Up the Future of Clean Energy

From STEM Classrooms… The American Clean Power Association (ACP) confirms what we know – the ongoing shift to renewables will not only broaden the horizon of energy industry career opportunities, it will create over 500,000 net new jobs. It’s this exponential growth coupled with the current administration’s ambitious clean energy agenda that underscore the industry-wide need for appropriately staffed workforces. Where will all of that specialized talent be sourced from? At Enel Green Power in North America, we look no further than the communities where we operate renewable energy projects, in states like Oklahoma, Texas and North Dakota. We begin in primary and secondary school classrooms, partnering with local education institutions and nonprofits to introduce clean energy curriculums early on. By providing hands-on, experiential education opportunities, we can ensure what students learn is relevant to the industry and directly translates to careers at our renewable energy plants. Sowing the seeds of success for the future clean energy workforce with a Classrooms to Careers approach starts in K-12 and advances a student toward a rewarding career path. This approach helps to remove one of the most prevalent barriers to entry in clean energy careers: education access. For example, in Tioga, North Dakota – home to Enel Green Power’s Lindahl and Aurora wind projects – the Creation Crate program sets Tioga students in grades 5-12 up with hands-on, STEM.org-certified electronics assembly and some of the foundational skills needed for a successful career in renewables. And those career opportunities extend past engineering and construction functions to encompass legal, finance, human resources, accounting and other operations necessary to the seamless management of a clean energy company. Native Oklahoman Kathy Jackson also knows a thing or two about the importance of early clean energy education. Kathy’s family worked in oil and gas for years, but when she saw the potential renewables had in her home state, she decided to bring the KidWind Challenge to Oklahoma. KidWind is an educational curriculum that promotes wind energy education through experiential workshops in schools. Students get exposure to all facets of wind energy and learn to design, build and test miniature wind turbines with support from coaches and mentors. It’s programs like these that are vital for equipping future generations with tools to build a brighter future. …to Clean Energy Careers If the future workforce seeds are sown in K-12, they’re watered in post-secondary and college education. Through investments in scholarships, educational programs and skills training, we’re able to open up access to clean energy jobs in communities and locations where they’re needed most. Enel Green Power is the second-largest wind operator in Oklahoma, a state and market well underway in the energy transition to renewables. To meet the workforce demand that’s resulted from the state’s growth in this sector, Enel Green Power worked with Northern Oklahoma College (NOC) to establish a new wind turbine technician and scholarship program that enables students to pursue a wind energy career. In fact, Kathy Jackson teaches a course at the college, which is where she met local resident Patrick Costello, who previously worked in an oil field before enrolling in NOC’s wind technician program. After graduating, Patrick joined Enel Green Power as a wind technician at our Thunder Ranch project near his home – a prime example of the Classroom to Careers model at work. Heading north to Alberta, Canada, at Lethbridge College, young learners in the local Piikani Nation are also exploring renewables. Through experiential learning days, students visit Lethbridge College and learn alongside the burgeoning experts from the Wind Turbine Technician program about a career in wind, including safety measures when onsite, how to test miniature turbines in the college’s wind tunnel and the ability to scale a turbine using virtual reality technology. These opportunities allow local learners to assume the place of a wind turbine technician for a day to learn about what could be a fun and functional career path for their future. Supporting a Transitioning Workforce A common thread flows through these three projects spanning three regions – the presence of high-production oil and gas hubs as well as home to numerous renewable energy projects. This is why, as part of an ongoing commitment to the just energy transition, we invest in workforce training targeting nontraditional learners entering clean energy from a fossil fuel background, such as coal mining or oil and gas. This approach enables us to offer proactive solutions for the pressing challenges our host communities face while also maintaining a pipeline of talent. As we advance further toward a 100% clean, electrified economy, growing the Classrooms to Careers approach in sourcing and training up talent is essential for the future clean energy workforce. Supporting students from K-12 to college to their first career in energy with scholarships, partnerships and educational programs will ensure we can meet rising renewable demand and combat the climate crisis for decades to come.

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Training Up the Future of Clean Energy

Training Up the Future of Clean Energy

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