Planning Grant for a Utilities and Energy Regional Center of Excellence

这笔规划赠款将为未来的公用事业和能源区域卓越中心制定精心设计的计划。为了实现这一目标，项目团队专注于三个目标：1：建立一个强大的工业和教育合作伙伴网络；2.调查和记录中西部的公用事业和能源教育需求；以及3.制定一项计划，增加对技术人员的公用事业培训。该项目有可能促进公用事业和能源部门的知识，特别是在两年制大学水平。随着新工人取代即将退休的工人，该行业将有大批新培训的员工涌入，其中一些人可能没有太多实践经验。这笔规划拨款将与中西部地区的合作伙伴合作，包括一些中西部最大的能源公司，以确保毕业生拥有维持能源公司运营所需的技能。利用跨越大学和州边界的资源，无论是最先进的实验室还是行业专业知识，都可以帮助多所大学合作，为具有成本效益的公用事业和能源项目创造更多选择。增加参与能源职业生涯的多样性对这些行业的健康至关重要。改变劳动力的人口构成需要从两年制大学开始。为此，这笔规划赠款将收集人口统计信息和最佳做法，并利用规划首脑会议制定一项战略，以便在项目结束前扩大参与。

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.