ElectricalConnection.org
ST. LOUIS — A wide-ranging green training initiative to prepare the region’s union electrical workforce to meet the needs of an evolving St. Louis economy has been unveiled at the award-winning Electrical Industry Training Center. The initiative reflects the pro-active stance of union labor as it prepares its members to master the new skill sets required by emerging green and alternative energy industries that has the potential to generate more than 22,000 manufacturing jobs in the state. The training center unveiled its curriculum at an open house for St. Louis area lawmakers and business leaders on May 28, 2009.
“We are both cultivating opportunity in the new green economy and training the workforce necessary to build it,” said Stephen P. Schoemehl, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local One. “We can make St. Louis the center of renewable energy development in the Midwest. To do that, we need a highly skilled workforce. We already have the essential curriculum in place to create that workforce and build a brighter future for St. Louis.”
IBEW Local One partners with the St. Louis Chapter, National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) to form the Electrical Connection.
Among the skills already developed within the ranks of IBEW Local One are the wiring and installation of solar panels, wind turbines and “smart building” technologies that conserve energy. The new training consolidates 70 courses into one green curriculum that includes:
“As the nation continues to push the development of electricity from cleaner energy sources, the installations are becoming more complex,” said Dennis Gralike, director of the Electrical Industry Training Center. “Safety is a huge concern. For example, while solar is a low voltage source when it is placed in arrays, the voltages can reach as high as 600 volts. It is essential that only skilled electricians install them in accordance with the National Electric Code.”
Located at 2300 Hampton Ave., the Electrical Industry Training Center is the Midwest's largest resource for training union electricians and communication technicians. It trains more than 1,200 IBEW apprentices, journeyman electricians and communication technicians annually. It is jointly operated by IBEW Local One and St. Louis Chapter, NECA. For more information, visit www.stlejatc.org.
Cultivating Green Industries According to the Renewable Energy Policy Project (www.repp.org), efforts to rein in Missouri’s carbon emissions have the potential to generate more than 22,000 manufacturing jobs in wind, solar, geothermal and biomass industries. As a result, the Electrical Connection has been cultivating these types of industries to create a new manufacturing base, generating jobs for its members.
“For union electricians and electrical contractors, the potential is more than just building or retrofitting renewable energy manufacturing facilities,” said Douglas R. Martin, executive vice president of the St. Louis Chapter, NECA. “We have the capability to work with product manufacturers and a project’s design team to customize our training. We can then prepare our skilled workforce to assemble and install new technologies with precision.”
Representatives of the Electrical Connection have been traveling the U.S. to lure green industry to St. Louis. The group also recently co-sponsored the Wind Industry Supply Chain Workshop, the first of its kind in a statewide series. Organized by The Missouri Partnership, the workshop delved into business-to-business opportunities in the renewable energy industry.
To learn more about the Electrical Connection, visit www.electricalconnection.org.
Cutline: Left to right, Electrical Industry Training Center apprentices Jack McNatt and Steven McCray prepare to test the voltage output on a solar panel as part of the training center’s new green curriculum.
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