Entergy launches five-year, $5 million workforce development initiative to help build highly trained workforce required by complex technologies

The replacement of humans by robots in the workforce and society has been a recurring theme in literature since Karel Capek first coined the term robot in 1920. However, despite the prognostications of Capek and generations of sci-fi writers who followed, rumors of human obsolescence are greatly exaggerated, as underscored by the results of Area Development magazine’s annual corporate survey.

Survey respondents ranked the human element – availability of skilled labor ­– as number one on the list of top site selection factors, up from 5^th place the year before. According to Area Development, rather than reducing the need for human workers, increasingly complex technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and cobotic teams (teams of humans and robots working together) are driving the need for more and more highly skilled human workers.

This demand is the driving force behind Entergy Corporation’s workforce development initiative, a five-year $5 million effort launched in early 2016. The goal of the initiative is to help create a competitive advantage in our region and help our communities land industrial and corporate expansion and/or relocation projects.

In 2016, Entergy committed grants totaling $2.2 million to 17 programs across our four-state region. 

Grant recipients are organizations that prepare people to join the workforce and train them for the jobs of the future. They meet rigorous grant selection criteria proving their impact on the workforce by many measures, such as percentage of participants completing their programs, getting jobs, retaining jobs, enrolling in higher education or getting industry certifications. When relevant to the program, criteria include the satisfaction of employers who have hired program graduates. Now these programs can accomplish even more.

On November 14, at a grant announcement I attended in New Orleans, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards described the $1 million in grants for programs in his state as an investment in people ­– the most precious natural resource. Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Don Pierson spoke about the need to expand business in the region and create jobs. He said, “The jobs of tomorrow belong to an educated and well-trained workforce.” According to Area Development magazine, the right workforce isn’t likely to be found, it has to be created by connecting potential workers with the right training at community colleges, nonprofits and other organizations.

Entergy’s investment in workforce development will help make these critical connections.

Overview of Entergy’s Workforce Development Initiative

 The key to Entergy’s approach with this initiative is that we worked closely with the economic development teams in all our communities to identify the industries they want to target.

The planning process was highly collaborative and strategic, based on industry research, internal input from all our operating companies and our Economic Development Group, and external input from groups of business and community leaders.

Some programs receiving grants award individual scholarships, while others may impact hundreds or even thousands of students annually. Some programs immediately impact the workforce, while others ensure that generations to come are prepared to hold the jobs of the future. For this reason, our program has a two-pronged structure:

1. Industry-Specific Workforce Training grants will help improve the quality of the workforce talent pool through programs that increase the number of certified workers trained in high-demand, high-wage industries. The programs target adults, with an emphasis on unemployed or underemployed individuals. They recruit, train and graduate workers who have nationally or regionally recognized industry certifications and/or associates degrees in target industries. These certifications vary, depending on the needs of existing and potential employers. They can include but aren’t limited to C4M (certification for manufacturing), AM (advanced manufacturing), NCCER (National Center for Construction Education and Research), PTech (process technology), and A&P (airframe and power plant).
2. School-to-Career Readiness grants will fund and support programs that improve the quality of the workforce talent pipeline. Programs will target youth between the ages of 14 and 25, with an emphasis on at-risk, unemployed or underemployed individuals. The School-to-Career Readiness grants will focus on increasing high school graduation rates and ensuring that students are career and/or college ready when they graduate.

A few examples of programs receiving grants this year:

• Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) equips at-risk students to stay in school, remain on-track, graduate on time and successfully transition to career or college. The program has a 35-year track record of 90%+ graduation rates, with 94% in the FY 2015-16. Program graduates complete training in 37 employer competencies. Entergy’s grant of $250,000 will fund the creation of five to seven new JAG sites in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, serving approximately 300 students in the start-up year.
• LED FastStart (North Louisiana) focuses on advanced manufacturing technology and delivers its C4M (Certification for Manufacturing) program to high school students, traditional community and technical college students, and adult learners, producing 200 C4M credential holders annually.
• Mississippi State University (MSU) Student Technology Exchange Program (S.T.E.P.) focuses on developing the technological preparedness of students. Centered on robotics and automation, this program was developed 10 years ago through a close partnership with Nissan and the Mississippi Department of Education. Students who complete the program can obtain industrial certification issued by FANUC, a worldwide leader in industrial robotics and automation.
• Operation Spark in New Orleans, a three-month Immersion program in software engineering, teaches students how to think like a software engineers, build production-grade web applications, and use a broad array of computer programming tools. In 2016, the January class of adult graduates had a 100% placement rate, with salaries ranging from $60,000 to $80,000.
• Lone Star Community College Promise Scholarship Program in Conroe, Texas provides “last-dollar scholarships” to close the funding gap for students who demonstrate financial need and are pursuing degrees or certification programs in energy and manufacturing.

• Student Loan Forgiveness Program in Arkansas is a program Entergy is in the early stages of working on with the AR Department of Education and the governor’s office. It will address the state’s need for workers in high-demand fields by offering loan forgiveness and other forms of assistance for students who complete certification and/or degree programs in these fields.

Powering the workforce in our region is one of the best ways Entergy can contribute to the quality of life in our communities. And leading the team that planned and implemented this broad-based program has been one of the most rewarding opportunities of my career.

• Workforce