ABB Pledges $1M to Expand 'Careers Electric' National Coalition
The Careers Electric initiative is expanding its footprint through a $1 million investment from global tech company ABB, which joins the Siemens Foundation as co-chair of the program's nationwide efforts to scale electrical workforce development.
ABB’s $1 million pledge over the first two years will assist Careers Electric in developing new approaches by launching its National Coalition—helping develop skilled U.S. electrical workers to address the rapidly evolving energy and manufacturing sectors. This employer-powered coalition, initially launched in North Carolina, includes major companies, national trade associations and workforce development groups to help scale the organization’s workforce training model.
Among the founding coalition members are industry partners such as Amazon Web Services, Duke Energy, JetZero, Hitachi Energy, NC Electric Cooperatives, ABB and Siemens. According to a release, these organizations will work together in implementing the program’s workforce development partners that align with their goals.
“We are proud to be part of a coalition bringing together government, industry, and education to help people build life-changing, well-paying careers while powering the electrified economy,” stated U.S. Electrification Business Lead at ABB Deni Miller.
Careers Electric highlights that employment demand for electrical careers is projected to increase by roughly 10% over the next decade, with as many as 80,000 job openings each year. Despite this, industry members have concerns about its aging workforce phasing out at the same time.
In North Carolina, Careers Electric claims 70% of licensed electricians are over the age of 50. They state this statistic adds a sense of urgency to their efforts to train the next generation of U.S. skilled workers.
Through this initiative, Careers Electric looks to train 25,000 people in its first 10 years under this new workforce development model, which it intends to scale across the U.S.
