Plans are in place to give residents of Atlantic City new opportunities for careers in the energy field through a new workforce development initiative announced today by the City of Atlantic City and Atlantic City Electric. The Atlantic City Infrastructure Program would focus on under resourced community members in Atlantic City, enabling participants to gain utility training and work ready skills to prepare them for promising careers in the energy field.
The Atlantic City Infrastructure Program is intended to build on a broader six-year, $6.5 million South Jersey Workforce Development Program that Atlantic City Electric launched in 2019. This program would be executed through an effort with four South Jersey workforce development boards and three vocational schools.
“The Small Administration is laser-focused on workforce development in our community,” said Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small, Sr. “It’s important we give our residents as many options as possible in the job market and provide them with opportunities they may not typically get. We look forward to working with Atlantic City Electric to put our residents in a position to succeed and prosper.”
With a goal of providing every graduate a job opportunity with Atlantic City Electric or one of the company’s contractors of choice, the Atlantic City Infrastructure Program would help educate the state’s future energy workforce and is expected to have positive impacts on South Jersey’s economy.
“We are excited to do our part to ensure we are helping the people in our communities secure jobs that can be hard to reach for underserved populations,” said Tyler Anthony, president and CEO of Pepco Holdings, which includes Atlantic City Electric. “This program, along with our broader workforce development efforts, are critical to changing that narrative and are supporting program graduates with job offers, and a pathway to the middle class.”
Participants in the Atlantic City Infrastructure Program would take part in a 14-week program, two days per week for three hours each. The plan is for training to take place at the Carnegie Library Center in Atlantic City and at the Atlantic City Electric utility training yard located at the Anthony “Tony” Canale Training Center in Egg Harbor Township, N.J. Program education would be provided by Atlantic Cape Community College through the South Jersey Workforce Development Program. If passed during the September 2022 Atlantic City Council meeting, the first cohort of 15 individuals would begin training on November 1, 2022. The program would then hold two cohorts annually.
In addition to these results focused workforce development programs, Atlantic City Electric has several initiatives that are helping to open doors to new career opportunities for residents and students across South Jersey:
- The company recently joined Jingoli Power to provide jobs to 16 Atlantic City young adults as part of its Atlantic City/Brigantine Community Reliability Project.
- The company’s High School Energy Career Academy is a four-year program focused on preparing students in grades 9 through 12, for entering post-secondary education or moving directly to employment in the energy field.
- Its Spark Internship Program provides an eight-week summer paid work experience and work-readiness education for rising South Jersey high school juniors and seniors with an interest in engineering, IT, technical services, trades, environmental studies and other energy industry relevant subject areas.
- The Exelon STEM Academy is a free, six-day summer program by Atlantic City Electric’s parent company, where junior and senior high school girls take part in activities crafted to support their understanding of STEM career options and college programs that can help them gain access and achieve success in a number of energy related positions.
- Through the company’s Community Scholars Program, hundreds of South Jersey students have received support of up to $5,000 to pursue degrees in various disciplines, including STEM and business-related fields.
Residents of Atlantic City interested in participating in the Atlantic City Infrastructure Program can contact Rachele Dorsey at Rachele.Dorsey@exeloncorp.com.
