TEP, Partners to Foster Workforce Development with Federal
Grant
TUCSON, Ariz., Sep 28, 2012 -- BUSINESS WIRE
Tucson Electric Power (TEP), Pima Community College (PCC) and
other partners will use a federal grant to expand energy
industry job training programs in Arizona.
The United States Department of Labor awarded a $13,477,799
Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career
Training (TAACCCT) grant to the Arizona Sun Corridor Get Into
Energy Consortium (Consortium), an association of five community
colleges in Arizona.
TAACCCT grants are intended to assist workers who have lost
or may lose their jobs as a result of foreign trade by providing
opportunities to obtain skills, credentials, and other resources
needed to find work. TEP and other industry partners throughout
Arizona contributed input and support to the grant application,
which was prepared under the leadership of Dr. Clay Goodman,
vice president of Occupational Education at Estrella Mountain
Community College in Avondale, Ariz., and Consortium director.
PCC will receive approximately $1.9 million of the grant.
Northland Pioneer College (NPC) in northeast Arizona, where
TEP's Springerville Generating Station is located, will receive
approximately $2 million. Grant funding, which will become
available to the colleges next year, may be used to pay for
instructors, facilities and delivery of curriculum that will
prepare students for energy-sector jobs. The job development
programs will be open to anyone, although extra effort will be
made to recruit veterans and underserved populations including
racial and ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.
"In order to develop the talented workforce that will
maintain our electrical infrastructure in the future, we have to
make an investment in our communities today," said Cathy Ries,
TEP Vice President of Human Resources and Information Systems.
"These training initiatives will help to ensure that we can
continue to hire employees who provide safe, reliable energy
service to customers."
By 2015, almost half of the skilled workforce in the energy
industry may need to be replaced due to retirement or attrition,
according to the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD).
These new training programs will help prepare applicants for
high-wage, high-skill jobs. Workers entering the program will
have an opportunity to earn credentials in Energy Industry
Fundamentals, which can be used by energy industry employers
nationwide to evaluate job applicants.
In Pima County, PCC will work with TEP, the Pima County
Workforce Investment Board and Pima County One Stop to develop
training programs and resources that will help prepare students
to become technicians, line workers, plant operators, engineers
and other types of skilled craftsmen in the energy and mining
industries. Northland Pioneer, TEP and other community partners
will work to develop similar resources to serve communities in
northeast Arizona.
"We are pleased to work with PCC to make these programs
available to members of our communities who are interested in
pursuing jobs in the energy industry," Ries said. "As it is with
many utility companies, our employees can enjoy long and
satisfying careers. We offer a competitive package of salary,
benefits and compensation and our employees take great pride in
serving their communities."
TEP also has scheduled a three-hour career and education fair
named "TEP Hires Heroes!" The event is intended to identify and
recruit prospective employees who have served in the armed
forces. Hiring representatives from TEP, as well as sister
companies Southwest Energy Solutions and UniSource Energy
Services, will attend the job fair, which is scheduled for
Thursday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at TEP's Corporate
Headquarters building, 88 E. Broadway Blvd. in Tucson.
Additional details and an online registration form will soon be
posted on tep.com.
Tucson Electric Power provides safe, reliable service to
404,000 customers in southern Arizona. To learn more about
employment opportunities with TEP, visit tep.com. For more
information about TEP's parent company, UNS Energy (NYSE: UNS),
visit uns.com.
Note: Members of the media may request to interview current
TEP apprentices including:
-- A current apprentice who had a successful career in the
construction industry until he was laid off and unable to find
work because of the weak economy
-- A veteran who is participating in an apprenticeship
program
-- Apprentices who have successfully completed the Building
for Success program
SOURCE: Tucson Electric Power
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