Energy companies say they've got jobs for vets
Published: July 11, 2011
WASHINGTON---The U.S. energy industry says it's looking for a few good veterans -- maybe as many as 200,000 of them over the next five years or so.
With nearly 40 percent of the America’s electric, natural gas and nuclear power workers expected to be eligible to retire by 2016 -- and with the unemployment rate for young veterans higher than for their civilian peers -- the industry joined with Secretary of Energy Steven Chu on Monday to announce a new program to recruit military veterans to the energy field.
“While veterans are looking for jobs, the energy industry is looking for new workers,” Chu said. That includes line workers and engineers in traditional energy industries, plus new jobs in wind, solar and other renewable energy fields.
In the near-term, the industry will need thousands of new engineers, technicians, line workers, plant operators and pipefitters.
The average salary for critical energy workers is about $56,000, said Tom Farrell, chairman, president and CEO of Dominion Energy, who is also chairman of the industry group Edison Electric Institute. Farrell’s company, along with four other industry leaders -- American Electric Power, Southern Co., Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and Arizona Public Service Co. -- are heading up Troops to Energy Jobs, a pilot program designed to increase the pool of qualified applicants for jobs in the field.
Specific initiatives include helping veterans figure out what kinds of jobs they might be qualified for, mentoring them on how to improve their qualifications and lining them up with apprenticeships and training to put them on the pathway to entry-level energy industry positions.
The first step for interested veterans is to check out the program website, getintoenergy.com/military. The site includes information on the five job classifications likely to have the most openings, plus a database of in-demand military occupational specialties.
“We’re bringing home a lot of troops, and 47,000 of them will be leaving the service,” Assistant Secretary of the Army Katherine Hammack said at the launch event at the National Press Club. “We’re going to have a significant number of well-trained, well-disciplined troops looking for jobs.”
