Planning Grant for a Utilities and Energy Regional Center of Excellence

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This planning grant will develop well-formulated plans for a future Utilities and Energy Regional Center of Excellence. To accomplish this goal, the project team is focused on three objectives: 1: Develop a robust network of industry and educational partners; 2. Investigate and document the utilities and energy education needs in the Midwest; and 3. Develop a plan to increase the availability of utilities training for technicians.This project has the potential to advance knowledge in the utilities and energy sectors, particularly at the two-year college level. As new workers replace retiring workers, the industry will have an influx of newly trained employees, some of whom might not have much hands-on experience. This planning grant will work with partners across the Midwest, including some of the Midwest's largest energy companies, to ensure that graduates have the skills required to keep the energy companies running. Leveraging resources across colleges and state boundaries, whether they be state-of-the-art laboratories or industry expertise, can help multiple colleges work together to create more options for cost-effective utilities and energy programming.Increasing the diversity of those who participate in energy careers with be crucial to the health of these industries. Changing the demographic makeup of the workforce needs to begin at the two-year college level. For this reason, this planning grant will gather demographic information and best practices and use a planning summit to develop a strategy for broadening participation by the end of the project.