January 19, 2015 | By Doug Peeples

The energy industry has earnestly been trying to come up with ways to recruit and train skilled employees to replace the many who are now retiring or nearing retirement age. Recognizing an opportunity to provide well-paying jobs, many academic institutions are doing their best to answer the call. Jefferson Community College (JCC) in Watertown, New York is one of those institutions.

Credit: Lisa F. Young

The need is undoubtedly there. Energy industry jobs are expected to roughly double in the next five years to about three million, and the industry is frantic to find qualified people to step in when over half of the current work force retires in the next several years. To add to the dilemma, the number of engineers graduating from the nation's colleges and universities has fallen.

JCC's selection of new course offerings will not solve the problem on its own of course,  but it is a good example of how academia can help the industry. The new courses will begin this month and include plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), photovoltaic systems, and solar heating systems.

The courses are intended for those who are already employed in the energy industry and would like to take the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners but are not interested in a degree. The solar-related courses are offered as for credit classes and as workshops for those individuals who are interested only in certification -- and they are eligible for tuition reimbursement through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's (NYSERDA) Workforce Development and Training Program.

Jack N. Donato, an associate professor of computer science at JCC, told the Watertown Daily Times that the community college is among the first to offer courses that will help those working in the energy industry get the training they need to advance their careers.

As Donato said, "There are employers who want their employees to have these certifications. These courses, even if they aren't taken for credit, get the students one step closer to getting their certification."

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