Hoosier Energy Creates Retraining Program for Employees
(photo courtesy of Hoosier Energy)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowBloomington-based Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative Inc. is working to help its employees skill up as it prepares to close one of its coal-fired power plants. The co-op is partnering with Indiana State University to create a Certificate in Emerging Energy Technology program, which is designed to retrain employees who are interested in learning the skills needed to pursue jobs in electric transmission and distribution. Hoosier Energy is planning to retire its Merom Generating Station in Sullivan County in 2023.
Chris Blunk, senior vice president of information technology and corporate services for Hoosier Energy, says the one-year program will give participants the chance to learn a variety of skills.
“When you look at emerging energy technology and the skill sets that will be required for more distributed energy and distributed energy management systems, we were really targeting those skill sets,” said Blunk. “(The program) essentially entails AC and DC circuits and design, digital computer logic, programmable logic controls and control systems, industrial electronic current control systems, technical graphics and then there are labs associated with the program that will prepare participants to test for their SEC radio license and also get some exposure to metering.”
The program is housed within ISU’s College of Technology. It includes six online courses and a hands-on lab. Hoosier Energy says the skills learned through the program, such as electric transmission metering, protection systems, and field communications, are in high demand throughout the utility industry.
Blunk says the employees being affected by the Merom plant’s closure are mainly focused on the generation side of the industry, which is a different skill set.
“This is really a retraining effort to prepare the employees that are directly impacted either to transition to other roles within Hoosier Energy or to be prepared to take a role outside of Hoosier Energy as the case may be,” he said.
Blunk says it was important to the co-op to make sure the affected employees were given as many options as possible before the Merom plant closed.
“We have great employees and we are committed to doing everything that we can to provide them every opportunity to be competitive for, again, either jobs inside of the company in other areas or prepare them to be competitive for jobs outside of Hoosier Energy. That is a commitment our board supported 100%.”
Blunk says the program is unique and he has already been contacted by other utilities wanting to learn more about its creation. He says it could serve as a model that will pop up more and more in the future.
“This has been a good opportunity for Indiana State as well because colleges around the nation are seeing a reduction in new freshmen and they’re looking for ways to attract students who may not be in a position to commit to a four-year degree. So, if they can offer a certificate program that gives them college credit that helps them develop a skill set that’s in demand and highly marketable, I think not only in the utility industry, but I think colleges and university around the country will look at a model like this and it could be a way for them to attract students that otherwise they couldn’t attract.”
Blunk says the one-year program will give participants the chance to learn a variety of skills.
Blunk says it was important to the co-op to make sure the affected employees were given as many options as possible before the Merom plant closed.