NWTC Initiative

Great Lakes Energy Education Center created at NWTC

Wisconsin, like the rest of America, needs energy--especially domestic and alternative sources that increase our energy independence. We also need to make the best use of our energy investments in order to remain competitive.

Yet the demand for skilled energy technicians is outpacing the current supply, and too few new workers are training to meet the need. Increasing that workforce has the potential to make the region stronger and safer.

NWTC has established the Great Lakes Energy Education Center to power up the local energy workforce. Offerings will span the power pipeline, from production to distribution to efficiency. Training will include associate degrees, technical diplomas, certificates and apprenticeships. Alternative energy sources, like solar and wind, will be taught alongside the traditional technologies that will bring that power to customers.

Amy Kox, associate dean-Energy and Sustainability programs, will oversee the new area. "It makes sense that generation, distribution and then analyzing the overall energy efficiency would be under one umbrella," she said. "There are so many pieces that are interrelated. It helps the students and the community to think of them that way."

Current program students and graduates are already bringing a lot of energy into their field. "The job I am currently doing is a job that only a certain number of people can do," says Brad Kegley, student in Electrical Power Distribution. "Working with high voltages of electricity is an awesome trade. People thank me very often for keeping the power on in their home. It's a great feeling."

"I start in three weeks and am very excited," says Chad Anthony, Gas Utility graduate. "From the start this has been my dream job and location."

The Center takes advantage of state-of-the-art facilities already in place, which graduates say prepare them well for jobs that require wide-ranging skills. Jonathan Leick, a May 2011 Utilities Engineering Technology  graduate, said that since being hired at Energis High Voltage Resources, "I've been doing a wide range of jobs to help utility customers prevent problems with their substation equipment [including] testing transformers, taking oil samples, and testing relays which protect all substation components and the power grid it serves."

The positive forecasts in the energy sector are based in part on simple physics. No matter how technology changes, we will need energy to make it run. As homes and workplaces become increasingly automated and electronic, their power demand grows.

"The utility industry is not going away any time soon," notes Paul Retzlaff, a graduate of Utilities
Engineering Technology who is also working at Energis. "If you want a career with endless opportunities and growth, then this is the field for you."

While demand is growing, the supply of experienced workers is shrinking. In the utility industry, 53 percent of the workforce will be retiring or preparing for retirement within the next seven years. That will amount to hundreds of job openings in Northeast Wisconsin that can only be filled by trained experts.

Even outside the utility industry, new opportunities are growing in businesses where improving efficiency can create significant cost savings. NWTC's own energy management initiative saved the College at least $200,000 in three years. The Energy Management associate degree program was established specifically to bring those benefits to area employers in any industry.

The industry as a whole seems to attract problem-solvers, says Mark Weber, dean of Trades and Engineering Technologies. "They tend to be technically-savvy individuals," Weber said. "They're often interested in conservation of resources. They're independent, entrepreneurial, proactive thinkers. They want to be part of the solution, to make a difference, and to be on the cutting edge of resource development. There's also a patriotic appeal, because you're helping your country through resource independence."

The other characteristic they clearly share is that they truly enjoy their work. As Kegley said, "Not everybody can say they get to work on high voltage electricity. Not every job gives you the opportunity to make people happy such as [by] restoring their power. Not every job you get to drive snow cats or take helicopters to remote locations. It takes a certain breed to do this job and everybody respects it."