Workforce Growth Researcher Leads Efforts To Illuminate Wind Power Profession Pathways and Foster a Expert Wind Workforce
Overlook “brat summer.” Jeremy Stefek is prepared for “demure fall.”
“Maybe I’ll take a trip to the San Juan mountains, do some work during the day, take some evening hikes, and watch the leaves turn,” Stefek defined. “Fall, compared to summer, feels like less pressure to be doing something all the time. It’s a chance to reset and refocus.”
Stefek, who research wind vitality workforce improvement on the Nationwide Renewable Power Laboratory (NREL), is trying ahead to making use of the demure fall ethos to his skilled life as nicely.
“Wind energy workforce development—and our efforts to support it—is a complex puzzle,” Stefek mentioned. “I like to be the guy behind the scenes, helping put the pieces together and allowing others to shine.”
Learn on to learn the way Stefek is working to know the wants of the rising wind vitality trade, increase consciousness of wind vitality profession alternatives, and develop coaching applications that guarantee a talented workforce is able to meet future calls for.
Fall appears to be a theme for you—your first Behind the Blades profile was in fall 2022. How has your position advanced since then?
NREL’s wind vitality workforce improvement group has grown considerably through the years, a lot in order that we’re now one of many Wind Power Program’s core capabilities. With that progress, my position has shifted from primarily doing evaluation to specializing in mentorship, undertaking administration, and shaping the long run path of NREL’s workforce analysis. Probably the most rewarding features of my work has been mentoring new group members who’ve turn into key contributors to our evaluation initiatives. Their ardour and drive are inspiring, and it has been fulfilling to information them of their work.
How do you clarify your work in laypersons’ phrases?
We attempt to perceive the challenges and alternatives associated to recruiting, hiring, and coaching staff within the wind vitality trade. We ask questions like, “How do we engage the people who build and operate wind energy projects and connect them with recruitment and training opportunities?” and “How do we make people aware of career pathways in wind energy—and how do we help them get on those pathways?”
We research expert trades {and professional} careers in each the land-based and offshore sectors. Every sector faces distinctive challenges, and we spend a variety of time figuring out the place to focus and figuring out the best priorities.
What issues does your work try to resolve?
Each land-based and offshore wind vitality have bold deployment objectives, requiring fast and intentional workforce growth. Nevertheless, if employee coaching doesn’t preserve tempo, we received’t have the expert workforce wanted to help future initiatives. A key problem is to lift consciousness that wind vitality presents many various viable careers and to make sure staff are educated on the proper time and place to fulfill trade calls for.
Expert trades like electricians and turbine technicians, are important for setting up and working wind vitality initiatives. For a very long time, there was a variety of emphasis on the highschool to four-year-degree path, which left us with a scarcity of expert commerce staff—not only for wind vitality however for a lot of industries. Creating or increasing registered apprenticeship applications in the appropriate locations is essential, notably for offshore wind, the place market uncertainties pose extra challenges. Apprenticeship applications on the whole are more and more vital, particularly with necessities from the Inflation Discount Act. Once more, we wish to ensure individuals know that you may have a terrific profession in wind vitality—whether or not as a tradesperson or as an engineer or undertaking supervisor.
These are some advanced issues! What methods have you ever discovered best in fixing these issues?
It’s difficult, as a result of, as a nationwide lab, NREL can determine traits and supply insights about resolve these challenges, however we’re not at all times those implementing the methods. Nevertheless, we’re engaged on some thrilling initiatives. As an illustration, we simply held the first-ever Wind Works Discussion board, which was a digital occasion designed to attach college students with wind vitality internships and apprenticeships. We even have the brand new Wind Power Workforce Community, which is bringing collectively universities, group schools, registered apprenticeship applications, trade, labor unions, and federal, state, and native companies to share classes realized. I’m excited that our group now has extra alternatives to implement nationwide applications and actively work on options.
Any undertaking updates or milestones that you simply’re particularly jazzed about?
We had 215 individuals register for the Wind Works Discussion board, and we had been fairly excited to see such a excessive curiosity in that occasion. Along with that, now we have three assets launching quickly which can be years within the making. First, we’re about to launch the brand new Wind Power Schooling and Coaching Database that can map all wind vitality coaching applications in the US. Subsequent, we’re growing some new wind vitality occupational maps to outline job titles and {qualifications} wanted for the wind trade, notably offshore wind. We’re additionally releasing assets associated to the Inflation Discount Act, together with particulars on prevailing wages and apprenticeship necessities.
It’s essential to not solely focus on these subjects but in addition information the creation of registered apprenticeship applications for these missing the capability or information to set them up. Lastly, we’re exploring workforce practitioner networks for floating offshore wind vitality on the West Coast. With these new applications, we’re getting alternatives to do some cool issues we haven’t achieved earlier than.
If we discuss once more a 12 months from now, what achievements do you hope you’ll be celebrating?
I hope I’ll be celebrating the profitable improvement of the wind vitality workforce networks we’ve been engaged on. It could be tremendous cool to see these networks come along with individuals connecting and collaborating successfully. Ideally, we’d have robust regional networks throughout the nation, with NREL facilitating and spurring workforce program initiatives. Moreover, I would like our new workforce assets to realize traction and be impactful. Guaranteeing they attain the appropriate individuals will likely be essential. I’m additionally enthusiastic about persevering with to mentor a motivated group and serving to them keep engaged and balanced. That, plus the elevated momentum round clear vitality and workforce improvement, makes me actually excited to be working on this area. It’s individuals plus vitality. I adore it.
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