Nebraska Community Colleges Join Forces to Support Workforce Training

According to New Power Nebraska and the American Clean Power Association, the state of Nebraska sits at #12 nationally for its share of electricity from renewables. This means that there is 22 billion gallons of avoided water consumption; 9.6 metric tons of CO2 emissions avoided, that is taking more than 2 million cars off the road; and nearly 1/3 of all electricity produce in Nebraska comes from clean power.  

Nearly 2,500 jobs in Nebraska are “powered” by renewable energy and the number is forecasted to increase steadily as more and more renewable projects come on-line in the state. The six public community colleges created and received a federal planning grant to create the Nebraska Investment in Clean Energy Project (NICE) to improve the career pipeline for Nebraska learners and support the rural underserved locations, where renewable energy projects are growing the fastest.  

The objectives for Project NICE are to develop clean energy education pathways, curriculum and modules for wind energy, energy technology, clean manufacturing, and building trades. Within the state, certificate, diplomas, and Associate of Applied Science credentials in Wind Energy, Energy Technology, Energy Generation Operations and Solar Power Technician are available at one or more of the colleges.

 Although each of the six community colleges have some type of energy related curriculum, there are some inconsistencies and most definitely opportunities to collaborate to create economies of scale for the industry. Nebraska has less than 2 million people and more than 2/3 of the population are centered around Omaha and Lincoln. Four of the six community colleges serve rural areas and are considered rural community colleges; the two urban colleges serve some rural areas while being primarily focused on their much larger communities. Collaborations like this are essential to meeting industry demands and planning for the careers of the future. 

Moreover, industry partners are critical to this work. Several employers are working with the faculty to identify the skills, knowledge and abilities that are needed today and forecasted for tomorrow. Plans are evolving to create (1) career pathways from our high school dual enrollment opportunities into the academic and workforce programs throughout the state; (2) apprenticeships and new earn-and-learn experiences; and (3) upskilling and worker trainer to support the new technologies that are being introduced in our building trades and our manufacturing operations. 

Within a rural state, we know that we can be more effective together, than addressing the needs in the emerging clean energy field as individual colleges.

Leah Barrett is the President of Northeast Community College in Norfolk, NE. Northeast has had a Wind Energy AAS since 2014 and is excited to be the lead institution for the NICE Project.

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