EEI Wins ASAE's Power of A(ssociation) Award for Energy Workforce Development Programs
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) received a 2015 American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) Summit Award last night during ASAE's 16th Annual Summit Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes EEI's efforts to develop a highly skilled and innovative energy workforce through the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) and its Troops to Energy Jobs and Get Into Energy / Get Into STEM programs.
CEWD is a non-profit consortium of electric, natural gas, and nuclear utilities and their associations—the American Gas Association, the American Public Power Association, EEI, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and the Nuclear Energy Institute. CEWD teams with secondary and post-secondary educational institutions, federal agencies, organized labor, and other stakeholders to create solutions and approaches to developing, hiring, and retaining a talented and diverse workforce in an industry that is stable and growing.
"The need for a highly skilled energy workforce, coupled with trained and qualified men and women looking for employment, creates a win-win for the energy industry," said EEI President Tom Kuhn. "We are honored to have received ASAE's Power of A Award for our efforts, and those of our trade association partners in CEWD, to build an innovative workforce for the future."
Through Troops to Energy Jobs, CEWD connects our nation's military veterans to rewarding energy careers. With their extensive military training and experience, many veterans already have the skills and knowledge required for energy careers. CEWD makes it easier for veterans to translate these skills and training into jobs that are active, hands-on, rewarding, and available in every state.
CEWD's Get Into Energy / Get Into STEM program provides funding and support for the FIRST® Robotics Competition and FIRST® Tech Challenge, both of which promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and engage middle- and high-school students in building robots. Through Get Into Energy / Get Into STEM, students develop hands-on training and learn the value of teamwork and problem solving—skills that are important to the energy industry.
"Students who come from the STEM fields are going to be incredibly important to our workforce needs in the future," said CEWD Chair Geisha Williams, President, PG&E Electric. "We are looking for engineers, mathematicians, and technical people who can come in and take our companies to a whole different level. There are amazing careers in the energy industry."
"The utility of today is not the utility of yesterday. It's a whole new game. That's why it's so important that we continue to build a skilled workforce for the future," added Tom Graham, immediate past chair of CEWD and Vice President, Pepco Holdings Inc.
ASAE's Power of A(ssociation) Award, the industry's highest honor, rewards outstanding accomplishments of associations and industry professionals for their efforts to enrich lives, create a competitive workforce, prepare society for the future, drive innovation, and make a better world.
EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide electricity for 220 million Americans, operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and directly employ more than 500,000 workers. EEI has 70 international electric companies as Affiliate Members, and 270 industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members.
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SOURCE Edison Electric Institute
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