Grant to Prepare Workers for Energy Sector
Indiana's manufacturing landscape is evolving; a traditional
manufacturing base is now complemented by "clean tech" firms that are
new to the Hoosier state, such as lithium-ion battery maker EnerDel and
Brevini Wind, which produces gear boxes for wind turbines. Even
companies that have called Indiana home for generations, like Cummins,
Remy and Allison Transmission, have evolved to become leaders in hybrid
electric component manufacturing for the next generation of electric
vehicles.
To help the work force keep pace with Indiana's changing manufacturing
and energy sectors, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded Ivy Tech
Community College of Indiana a $4.7 million grant for smart grid work
force training to prepare the next generation of workers in the
electrical manufacturing and utility industries.
"[Ivy Tech] will be developing a suite of training and educational
initiatives aimed at developing smart grid enabled work force in
Indiana," says Ivy Tech Vice President for Work Force and Economic
Development Rebecca Nickoli. "It builds capacity in Indiana to train
individuals who will take the smart grid jobs or who are in the energy
sector and need to upgrade their skills to work with the smart grid."
Ivy Tech is partnering with Purdue University to develop the Crossroads
Smart Grid Training Program (CSTP), a suite of training and educational
initiatives that will include certifications, as well as associate and
bachelor degrees. The program is expected to help train 1,500 students. Listen
"One thing that's very appealing about [this grant] is its broad
audience. There's a need to upgrade workers already in the industry,
retrain displaced workers and attract young people to the energy
industry," says Nickoli. "If you think about the typical 16 or 17
year-old or high school counselor, energy probably doesn't come to mind
as a career that sparks interest or that they know much about; so
there's also a component of this grant that's aimed at recruitment and
education." Listen
Ivy Tech and Purdue will work hand-in-hand with private and public
entities in the energy sector to ensure the CSTP will help fill what
industry leaders call the "work force-education gap." One such partner
is the Energy Systems Network (ESN), an initiative of the Central
Indiana Corporate Partnership to build the state's clean technology
industry. ESN will serve as a connection between the colleges and energy
sector to assure the CSTP coursework aligns with industry needs.
"Our role is to make sure [the CSTP] is well informed by the industry
perspective of our partners: the utilities, the manufacturers and the
technology development firms," says ESN President and Chief Executive
Officer Paul Mitchell. "The hope is that the programs are more
effective, and the students who come through them will be well suited to
quickly move into the work force for the clean-tech and energy
sectors." Listen
Mitchell believes the energy training grant will impact Indiana's
manufacturing industry by developing a "robust pipeline" of workers with
a broad range of expertise.
"These workers could be employed by new manufacturers or new businesses
who maybe manufacture smart meters or the charging infrastructure," says
Mitchell. "It could also include firms that design and sell software
that run on the smart grid. There's a whole new market of innovative
opportunity, as well as the need to back fill the high level of
attrition taking place in the more traditional utility business." Listen
The grant is part of a $95 million nationwide project, funded through
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to implement smart grid
technologies in communities across the country.
"There are smart grid projects in the state that have already been
deployed in tens of thousands of homes. The speed at which they're going
to move from a pilot to deploying it in millions of homes is not too
far away," says Mitchell. "It won't be too long before there will be a
great deal of demand for employees in this space." Listen
Mitchell is confident Indiana could be one of the country's greatest
benefactors of the nationwide effort; he believes the existing industry
base in the clean tech and energy sectors—and their desire to work
together to bring innovation to market—gives Indiana the potential to
"outpace the nation in green job creation."