The economic downturn and decimated 401(k)s may have convinced some utility workers to put off their retirement for a couple more years, but the coming skilled-worker shortage is still on track to put a squeeze on utility companies without the recruitment of a new generation of linemen and power plant workers.

"We are about to get hit," said Seattle Local 77 Business Manager Don Guillot. "More than 60 percent of our workers are eligible to retire."

To meet the coming labor crunch in the Pacific Northwest, a partnership between the IBEW, local utility companies and the Washington state community college system has pioneered an innovative program to attract a new generation of workers to the utility industry.

In 2004, the state board of community and technical colleges designated 11 Centers of Excellence at colleges throughout Washington to support workplace development needs.

Centralia College, located in southwest Washington, is home to the Center of Excellence in Energy Technology—which in only a few years has become one of the leading training programs for power production workers in the region.

Students in the two-year program are introduced to the basics of energy technology, using a curriculum jointly developed by the IBEW, utilities and state officials. They also get to see the workings of local power companies up-close through summer plant tours. Graduates of the program can get credit toward their apprenticeship, which can shorten it by as much as a year.

More than a dozen utilities have partnered with the program, as have Local 77 and Portland, Ore., Local 125.

"We’re recruiting younger folks to take a look at the utility system and make sure they have the skills needed to get into an apprenticeship and land a job with a utility," said Local 77 member Bob Guenther, who helps lobby state officials.

Students can also use credits earned in the program to later on get their bachelor’s degree, so going into the trades doesn’t mean giving up on getting a college education.

Since the Energy Technology program first started, it’s graduated more than 50 students.

According to the program’s Executive Director Barbara Hins-Turner, 80 percent of graduates land positions with local utilities.

Randy Steadman, the human resources manager for the Chelan County Public Utility District told Power Engineering Magazine that the "(program) is a very efficient way for us to develop talent from our local market."

To facilitate the expected demand for green jobs, the Center for Excellence partnership will unveil its wind turbine technician associate’s degree through a partnership with community colleges in eastern Washington and the new IBEW regional training center located in Richland.

Hins-Turner, Guenther and Guillot were invited by the Democratic Policy Committee—the policy group for Senate Democrats—to come to Washington, D.C. last summer to talk about the Center of Excellence program at its Green Jobs summit.

"We think it’s a model for other jurisdictions to look into," Guillot said.

To find out more, go to www.centralia.edu/coe.