Energy Is Hot

Retirees will leave jobs open for a new generation to explore opportunities in an exciting and innovative energy industry.

By Laura French, Star Tribune Sales and Marketing

Last update: September 24, 2007 - 10:56 AM

Currently, there are approximately 15,000 energy workers in Minnesota. At Northern Natural Gas, the average age of workers is 52. Xcel Energy estimates that up to 50 percent of its workforce could retire in the next seven to 10 years. At Minnesota Power, 44 percent of the work force could retire now. Those statistics are colliding with a new boom in alternative energy sources. A new Minnesota Energy Consortium is working to alert prospective workers to energy's career potential.

Retirements Loom

The utilities industry has a job turnover rate that most industries would envy: 2.7 percent, compared to an average of 9.7 percent, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Because employment is so stable, many employees have been on the job for 20 to 30 years or more.

The industry will face a wave of retirements in coming years, according to Chad Coauette, dean of Customized Training at Alexandria Technical College. Coauette also serves as facilitator for a new Energy Consortium, comprised of nine Minnesota colleges; government agencies, like DEED; and industry partners like Xcel Energy, Minnesota Rural Electric Association, Dakota Electric, Northern Natural Gas and Minnesota Power.

Stable And Exciting

Among the consortium's challenges: Getting the word out to Minnesota high school and college students that energy careers are a hot alternative. Needed skills include math, knowledge of biology and chemistry, computer skills and mechanical applications like welding, machining, print-reading and Computer Assisted Design (CAD).

The problem, Coauette acknowledges, is that those same skills are the ones that other worker-hungry industries, like manufacturing and construction, are looking for.

Why choose an energy career? Candy Bowman, director of Learning and Performance Management for Xcel Energy and also chair of the Minnesota Energy Consortium, says there are multiple reasons. The industry has a history of stable employment and wages and benefits are very good. For example, a senior plant operator could make $100,000 a year or more with overtime.

Making A Difference

Yet today's energy industry is not only stable - it's also exciting, Bowman says. The King Plant on the St. Croix was recently rebuilt to reduce sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by approximately 90 percent, and further reduce particulates by 20 percent. Two other metro area plants, High Bridge and Riverside, are being demolished and rebuilt with new plant designs to significantly reduce emissions. In addition, a new 100-megawatt wind farm is planned near Austin.

Finding cleaner ways to produce energy can have a major positive impact on the environment, while giving workers an opportunity to work at the cutting edge of technology. "Those are strong drivers for young people," Coauette says.

Bowman says that Xcel Energy requires high-school diplomas or GEDs and many applicants must pass an entry-level exam. Those who pass the test typically have had training in a technical college programs focusing on skills needed in the energy industry. St. Paul College (www.saintpaul.edu) offers both an associate degree and a certificate in Energy Process Technology. Bismarck State College (www.bismarckstate.edu) provides an Electrical Transmission Systems Technology program and Plant Operator program online. Dakota County Technical College (www.dctc.edu)has an Electrical Lineman program.

Laura French is principal of Words Into Action, Inc., and is a freelance writer from Roseville.

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