Workforce Collaborative

The Workforce Collaborative is a partnership of industry, government and universities working together to address electric power industry workforce challenges. It recently published its action plan for stakeholders in the U.S. economy. The action plan is entitled Preparing the U.S. Foundation for Future Electric Energy Systems: A Strong Power and Energy Engineering Workforce.

Collaborative's Objectives

Create a single, collaborative voice on solutions to engineering workforce challenges
Strengthen the case for extraordinary efforts to build, enhance, and sustain university power engineering programs
Envision the future challenges in electric energy supply and demand and develop an image that will increase interest in power and energy engineering careers
Stimulate interest in power and energy engineering careers and prepare students for a post-high school engineering education in power and energy engineering
Make the higher education experience relevant, stimulating, and effective in creating high quality and professional power and energy engineers
Encourage and support increased university research to find innovative solutions and enhance student education.

The Collaborative will work for the transformation of relationships among industry, government and universities to support on-going activities that expand the pipeline of students, and that build, enhance and sustain university power engineering programs.

Collaborative's Organization

An Executive Council to provide single, collaborative voice on solutions to engineering workforce challenges, and to plan a comprehensive approach that gets wide support while initiating actions that are necessary, timely, and supportable with available resources.
Three Working Groups (Outreach and Image, Education and Research Support) to support decision-making by the Executive Council and do the necessary work to meet the Collaborative's objectives.
A Management Steering Committee to insure successful coordination and completion of the Collaborative's activities.
Partners from industry, government and universities to endorse its objectives and lend support to its activities.

Organizational Principles

In all that it does, the Collaborative will work for the transformation of relationships among industry, government and universities to support on-going activities that expand the pipeline of students, and that build, enhance and sustain university power engineering programs.
This is a transitional structure with a focus on engineers for power and electric energy careers. The structure may be modified as needed to reach the Collaborative's objectives.
Existing efforts and organizations will be used to the maximum extent possible, such as IEEE Power and Energy Society committees, IEEE-USA, associations, federal and state agencies, non-profit organizations (e.g., the Center for Energy Workforce Development), and industry.
Planning will consider ways to sustain this initiative overtime, including the possibility of new institutions or organizations.
Other industries will be involved, not just electric power.

Collaborative Description and Background

Education and Workforce Issues

For More Information