BY IEC STAFF
It’s a big vision. IEC is able and ready to honor its commitment to the vision and has aligned attainment around its organizational priorities. One priority is to ‘advance workforce development through positioning IEC as a leader within the electrical industry.’
Recently IEC participated in a few events designed to help IEC achieve these goals. IEC had a booth at the Association for Career & Technical Education (ACTE) CareerTech VISION Conference and Expo in San Antonio, TX. The event drew more than 5,000 attendees interested in high-quality career and technical education in secondary and postsecondary environments and emerging trends in the field.
The IEC team reported many came by the booth to learn about IEC’s programs, and they spoke with them at length about all the association offers in addition to our leading Apprenticeship Program. IEC Greater San Antonio’s Ed Del Toro helped at the booth. Ed is the chapter director of education and training but spent 10 years in the field and 16 years as a high school educator. Ed’s insight was invaluable interacting with educators seeking information to help direct their students.
A main message stressed by IEC to booth visitors is that deciding to pursue electrical training opens up wide career possibilities. One giveaway at the booth was the IEC electrical career trading cards (pictured elsewhere on this page) that illustrate some of those career paths. IEC currently has cards for six possible electrical careers — safety manager, project manager, owner, journeyman master electrician, foreman, and construction estimator.
IEC’s second event in San Antonio was to serve as a co-facilitator in a session discussing how business / industry and education work together. It was a 45-minute discussion centered around how educators would like to engage with business and industry to better serve their students. IEC learned much about what educators need and was able to share with them some best practices about how to engage with IEC contractor members. More importantly, IEC was able to let them know about trade associations and how to work with IEC to connect to the electrical industry. Rather than them trying to find the right individual near their schools, they can get in touch with IEC for materials and the association can serve as a conduit to connect them with local assistance.
There was a lot of conversation around industry recognized credentials, what employers look for when students are graduating, and how students must master the technical skills to become employed. Often, however, it’s the workplace and personal skills — those soft skills — which help carve out a full and robust career path. When thinking about the electrical industry, the entry level step is an electrician or a technician. But what about the estimators? The project managers? IEC wants to be sure educators can help students understand that there is a career trajectory. It’s not a one-hit-wonder — you don’t become an electrician and then that’s it. There are opportunities for promotion, for high earnings, and for a long game. IEC wants to help these influencers help students think through their futures.
Finally, IEC was represented at the Coalition for Workforce Development through CTE (WFD-CTE Coalition) Summit. WFD-CTE Coalition’s mission is to ‘address the nation’s skills gap through a collaborative approach that connects business and industry, employers, workforce development efforts, and career and technical education programs to achieve a skilled and diverse workforce.’ About 80 groups were represented, including associations for home builders, trucking, heavy equipment, construction, employment, information technology, manufacturing, and more.
The Summit was a large gathering of folks with a common goal of building a talent pipeline by helping folks understand career options within these industries. IEC reported there is much collaboration that can happen and a lot of alignment to take place to ensure that we can all be successful and move forward together. In 2025 and beyond, IEC intends to work with many of the connections made through the coalition. 3
What Can YOU Do?
While IEC National efforts lay the groundwork, IEC knows the real impact happens at the local level — on job sites and in communities. Here are a few ways IEC contractors can take advantage of IEC resources and take proactive steps in building your workforce:
- Reach out to local middle, high, and technical schools
- Attend college and career fairs
- Host job site field trips
- Utilize STEM resources for career exploration
- Offer internships or job shadowing opportunities
IEC is working it from a national perspective to generate best practices, to create awareness, to build resources and tools, and to energize people to consider careers in the trades. In order to be successful, IEC contractor members have to work it as well.
Check the IEC website for ideas.