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Federal, State Initiatives Target Energy Careers
The U.S. Department of Labor is an important partner in several work force initiatives. In 2003, President Bush established the High Growth Job Training Initiative to prepare workers to take advantage of new and increasing job opportunities in high-growth, high-demand and economically vital sectors of the American economy, including energy.

A $10 million Department of Labor grant program is available to address increased demand for skilled workers in the energy industry, including nuclear power plants. The funding, part of the High Growth Job Training Initiative, is available to job-training organizations and community groups that provide training leading to energy industry jobs in their localities.

The Labor Department announced the grants at the Energy Skilled Trades Summit that it co-sponsored with the state of Mississippi last fall. NEI also supported the summit, along with other energy trade associations.

Summit participants sought common ground and solutions to attracting people to skilled labor careers, including:

• aligning a company’s philanthropy with work force planning goals
• industrywide recruiting in lieu of company-specific recruiting efforts
• gaining access to potential labor pools through community or faith-based organizations
• targeting engineering school dropouts with technical acumen but who may be better suited to the trades.
  

Several states also have created programs to encourage careers in key infrastructure sectors, such as energy. Florida, Maryland and Texas are among 10 states that have collaborated with the nuclear energy industry to create skilled crafts training programs.