The Exelon family of companies is helping to educate Illinoisans about the need for a strong energy workforce and encourage them to consider careers in the energy industry as part of the state’s inaugural Careers in Energy Week. Gov. Pat Quinn recently issued a proclamation declaring Oct. 14 – 20, 2013, a weeklong celebration of the important role energy workers play in Illinois.
“Careers in energy provide opportunities for a wide range of skill sets and capabilities,” said Amy Best, Exelon senior vice president and chief human resources officer. “Educating students and others about the possibilities in our sector will continue the pipeline of talent for skilled energy workers of tomorrow.”
In the lead-up to Careers in Energy Week, employees of ComEd, Exelon’s Chicago-based electric utility, led Belding Elementary students from the Mayfair, Old Irving Park and West Walker neighborhoods on a tour of its Rockford, Ill., training center. ComEd also will host an open house at its Oakbrook, Ill., Commercial Center to equip employees to educate friends and family members about energy career options, and training and recruitment opportunities.
Employees of Exelon Generation, Exelon’s power generation and marketing business, will speak to students at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora, Ill., about energy career opportunities and major events shaping the nuclear industry, and to students at Freeport High School in Freeport, Ill., and Manteno High School in Manteno, Ill., about careers in nuclear energy.
Exelon employs well over 12,000 people in Illinois at its Chicago–areas offices, throughout ComEd’s northern Illinois service territory and at nine power generating facilities statewide. Its ComEd and Exelon Generation subsidiaries are members of the Illinois Energy Workforce Consortium, which was instrumental in instituting Careers in Energy Week in Illinois. A group of utilities formed the consortium in 2011 with the goal of working together to understand and address the state’s energy workforce needs.
In recognition of Careers in Energy Week, energy companies, educational institutions and energy-focused organizations across Illinois are collaborating on a variety of programs to educate students, families and businesses about how energy companies operate and contribute to the local economy, and the current and future career opportunities they can provide.
The weeklong celebration is part of a nationwide effort by the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) to increase awareness of careers in the energy field. The CEWD is a non-profit consortium of electric, natural gas and nuclear utilities and their associations formed in 2006 to develop solutions to the coming utility industry workforce shortage. Through a partnership with the National Energy Foundation, CEWD is providing middle and high school teachers lesson plans and materials covering energy sources and how energy is generated for Careers in Education Week.
