Closing the Power Industry Knowledge Gap through Educational Partnerships
The power grid is one of the largest, man-made infrastructures, and one society relies on, but there’s a problem: the people who have kept it running for the past 30 years are ready to retire, and the pool of new talent is too shallow. This gap looms larger every year, and as workloads get even bigger, with organizations preparing for new NERC CIP regulations amongst other challenges, they are under constant pressure to attract and retain quality talent.
There’s no easy fix to close this talent gap, but one part of the puzzle is to create clear career paths into the industry that provide the up and coming workforce with the theoretical, technical and hands-on training they need to be successful in the field and keep up with the pace of technology.
Lake-Sumter State College’s (LSSC) associate level engineering technology program, which includes a specialization in relay substation technology, is actively developing the next generation of relay technicians. Students enrolled in this program learn necessary theoretical information, and are able to apply it to real world situations in the Florida college’s own substation and relay lab. The practical experience they gain using industry standard equipment such as Doble’s diagnostic testing tools make their transition to employment easier for them and their employer.
“I like seeing what my future career looks like and facing real world obstacles as I learn. This course is set up to show the equipment, potential interactions, and even hazards you might experience in the field that can be caused by human error,” said Robert Tillman, an LSSC student pursuing a degree in relay and substation technology. “The labs and hands on experience with real equipment is a great help for students like myself who want to dive right in, but have no experience in the field prior to the program.”
“My experience in the program so far has been extremely positive,” explains Kay Magamoll, another student of LSSC’s engineering technology program. “The support and involvement of everyone in the program has been very beneficial to us as students because it brings a sense of community to the learning environment. This program is setting each one of us up to succeed, if we are up to the challenge.”
Doble's partnerships with LSSC and other colleges across the country reflect the principles Frank Doble, our company’s founder, established to help utilities manage the ongoing reliability and safety of the electric power grid. From our products, to our services to our philanthropy, our founder's principles are at the core of everything Doble offers.
