A partnership between a multi-state energy provider and a career-training center is predicted to provide the utility with well-trained employees and graduates with well-paying jobs.
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks Job Corps Center in Memphis entered a "Memorandum of Understanding" Feb. 23, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced last month. The agreement calls for the TVA to provide its technical proficiency to Jobs Corps for curriculum development and also assist graduates to move to TVA programs or an apprenticeship program with the International Brotherhood of Electrical workers, according to the announcement.
"The partnership will enable the Hooks Job Corps Center to provide a pipeline of talent with trained overhead-line graduates to TVA and to its subcontractors, vendors and partners," DOL states in the announcement. "Apprentices in overhead-lineman positions typically earn more than $40,000 a year."
The TVA, a federally owned electric utility corporation, operates in all of Tennessee and parts of Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina and Virginia. Jobs Corps plans to expand the partnership agreement to its 23 centers in the TVA operating area that currently offer training aligned with TVA employment opportunities, the DOL reports.
“Job Corps’ partners benefit from our ability to modify our training programs to suit their specific needs,” Job Corps National Director Rachel Torres said in the announcement. “Customized training supports our partners’ economic growth and creates more career opportunities for our students."
"It’s a win-win for Job Corps and for the TVA. They need the next generation of overhead linemen. We’ve got them,” Torres said.
TVA President and CEO Jeff Lyash said the partnership with the Hooks Jobs Corps Center will provide the local community with access to "state-of-the-art" training and education that could lead to careers with the utility.
“The future of the energy industry is founded upon the actions we take and investments we make today – and this partnership is a clear investment in our workforce of the future,” said Tennessee Valley Authority President and CEO Jeff Lyash.
Jobs Corps is the largest job-training and education program in the United States, according to the DOL. Students ages 16 to 24 years receive vocational training and academic education in the mostly residential program that offers students a "campus environment like a small college," the DOL states. Jobs Corps services and programs are provided free of charge and are administered by the DOL's Employment and Training division. More than two million people have graduated from Jobs Corps program since it was founded in 1964, the DOL reports.
