New College Degree Program Opens Doors to Careers in the Utility Sector
28 September 2006 - 6:21AM
PR Newswire (US)
PSE&G Teams with Passaic County Community College to Help Stem
Impending Energy Industry Workforce Shortage PATERSON, N.J., Sept.
27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- North Jersey residents now have a
unique opportunity to pursue careers in the gas delivery and
electric generation and distribution industries, thanks to a new
partnership between Passaic County Community College (PCCC) and
PSE&G. The school's new utility technology degree is designed
to help create a pool of technically skilled and educated workers
to fill critical entry-level positions at a time when the utility
industry is facing a looming skilled workforce shortage. The 2-year
program combines classroom training with hands-on technical
apprentice level training. Students work toward earning an
Associate Degree in Applied Sciences, and qualified graduates are
offered positions at PSE&G. "This program is proving to be an
important pipeline of new and diverse talent to our company," said
Ralph LaRossa, PSE&G's vice president for electric delivery.
"Some 20 percent of our employees will likely retire over the next
couple of years and we'll need qualified people to fill their
shoes. This program will help supply them." "What's more," he said,
"it is providing New Jerseyans with access to jobs they might not
otherwise have, giving them an opportunity to train side-by- side
with some of the best -- to see whether a career in the energy
industry is right for them." Students in the utility degree program
take their general education courses and some of the technical
classes in classrooms at Passaic County Community College. The more
hands-on courses specific to the utility industry will be held at
PSE&G's training center in Edison. Students will be required to
join the appropriate labor union -- either OPEIU, Local 855 or IBEW
-- and to complete two paid summer internships. Rutgers
University's John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development has
recognized PSE&G's energy utility degree as one that works, a
model workforce development program for other businesses and
industries in New Jersey to use to recruit diverse candidates into
entry-level positions. "Part of our mission at PCCC is to help
strengthen Passaic County's economy," said Dr. Steven M. Rose,
president of PCCC. "We are pleased to join PSE&G in offering
this new and unique career opportunity to our community." It is
estimated that approximately half of the utility workers employed
today, or about 300,000 workers, will retire in the next 15 years,
according to a 2005 study by the Utility Business Education
Coalition. A separate report, issued in 2005 by the John J.
Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University,
analyzed the responses of 39 utility companies that took part in a
workforce survey and found that first-line supervisors and managers
are expected to be a top hiring need through 2010. PSE&G began
its utility degree program at Mercer County Community College in
2002 and expanded in the last few years to Essex County College,
Middlesex County College and Thomas Edison State College. PSE&G
has hired 38 students since the program's start and another 84 are
currently pursuing degrees at the schools. "We hope our program
will serve as a model for other New Jersey businesses interested in
expanding their applicant pool by partnering directly with our
state's high schools and community colleges," LaRossa said. Public
Service Electric and Gas Company (PSE&G) is New Jersey's oldest
and largest regulated gas and electric delivery utility, serving
nearly three- quarters of the state's population. PSE&G is the
winner of the ReliabilityOne National Achievement Award for
superior electric system reliability. PSE&G is a subsidiary of
Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (PSEG) (NYSE: PEG), a
diversified energy company (http://www.pseg.com/). Passaic County
Community College (PCCC), located in downtown Paterson and in
Wanaque, offers degree and certificate programs in over 40
different subject areas. Affordable tuition and convenient
scheduling make PCCC the college of choice for Passaic County area
residents. DATASOURCE: Public Service Electric and Gas Company
CONTACT: Jenn Kramer of PSE&G, +1-973-430-7734, or Betsy
Marinace of PCCC, +1-973-684-6861 Web site: http://www.pseg.com/
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