[House Hearing, 113 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
EXPLORING JOBS FOR VETERANS IN THE ENERGY SECTOR
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
of the
COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2014
__________
Serial No. 113-68
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
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COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS
JEFF MILLER, Florida, Chairman
DOUG LAMBORN, Colorado MICHAEL H. MICHAUD, Maine, Ranking
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida, Vice- Member
Chairman CORRINE BROWN, Florida
DAVID P. ROE, Tennessee MARK TAKANO, California
BILL FLORES, Texas JULIA BROWNLEY, California
JEFF DENHAM, California DINA TITUS, Nevada
JON RUNYAN, New Jersey ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona
DAN BENISHEK, Michigan RAUL RUIZ, California
TIM HUELSKAMP, Kansas GLORIA NEGRETE McLEOD, California
MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado ANN M. KUSTER, New Hampshire
BRAD R. WENSTRUP, Ohio BETO O'ROURKE, Texas
PAUL COOK, California TIMOTHY J. WALZ, Minnesota
JACKIE WALORSKI, Indiana
DAVID JOLLY, Florida
Jon Towers, Staff Director
Nancy Dolan, Democratic Staff Director
SUBCOMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
BILL FLORES, Texas, Chairman
JON RUNYAN, New Jersey MARK TAKANO, California, Ranking
MIKE COFFMAN, Colorado Member
PAUL COOK, California JULIA BROWNLEY, California
BRAD WENSTRUP, Ohio DINA TITUS, Nevada
ANN KIRKPATRICK, Arizona
Pursuant to clause 2(e)(4) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, public
hearing records of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs are also
published in electronic form. The printed hearing record remains the
official version. Because electronic submissions are used to prepare
both printed and electronic versions of the hearing record, the process
of converting between various electronic formats may introduce
unintentional errors or omissions. Such occurrences are inherent in the
current publication process and should diminish as the process is
further refined.
C O N T E N T S
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Page
Exploring Jobs for Veterans in the Energy Sector................. 1
OPENING STATEMENTS
Bill Flores, Chairman............................................ 1
Mark Takano, Ranking Member...................................... 3
WITNESSES
Mr. Wesley Carr, President, PEC Safety........................... 3
Prepared Statement........................................... 24
Colonel Randall Wooten (USAF Ret), President Texas State
Technical College (TSTC) in Marshall........................... 5
Prepared Statement........................................... 27
Mr. Tyrone Everett, East Coast & Mid/Southwest Regional Director,
Center for Employment Training (CET)........................... 7
Prepared Statement........................................... 29
Mr. Jay Hawkins, Vice President for Human Resources, Chesapeake
Energy Co...................................................... 14
Prepared Statement........................................... 31
Mr. Mark Szabo, Team Lead for Military Recruiting, Baker Hughes.. 16
Prepared Statement........................................... 32
Mr. John Simon, Senior Vice President, Human Resources Pacific
Gas & Electric Company......................................... 18
Prepared Statement........................................... 33
STATEMENT FOR THE RECORD
Veterans Green Jobs.............................................. 36
EXPLORING JOBS FOR VETERANS IN THE ENERGY SECTOR
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Tuesday, May 20, 2014
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:10 p.m., in
Room 340, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Bill Flores
[chairman of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Flores, Runyan, Cook, and Takano.
OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN BILL FLORES
Mr. Flores. Good afternoon. We are waiting on the ranking
member and I'm going to ask unanimous consent to start the
meeting early, without him, and then he can join us when he
gets here. Hearing no objection, so ordered.
Good afternoon. The subcommittee will come to order. Thank
all of you for joining us here today. Before we begin with
today's hearing I wanted to address the current allegations
regarding patient wait times and veterans dying while awaiting
care from the Veterans Administration.
Like all Americans, I am deeply saddened and disturbed by
this ever increasing scandal that is eating away at Americans'
confidence in the VA system. The situation that first arose in
Phoenix, Arizona seems to be expanding by the day and has even
reached my home State of Texas. Last week I sent a letter to
Secretary Shinseki requesting that the VA Inspector General's
current investigation also include allegations regarding
manufactured wait times and allegations of withheld and/or
delayed care at the San Antonio, Austin, and Waco VA Medical
Centers.
If any of these allegations are found to be true I expect
the Secretary to hold himself, his senior leadership team, and
all those responsible accountable. I also expect the Attorney
General to file criminal charges should they be warranted.
Our veterans have earned the right to the highest quality
of health care delivered in a timely manner and anything else
is simply unacceptable to me, and to the members of this
committee, and to all Americans.
Now on to the topic of today's veterans in the energy
sector. When one looks at the basic inputs that are required
for a robust economy, you will find the following elements:
people; financial capital; research and development;
intellectual property; energy; a transparent, stable, and
fairly enforced rule of law; and a regulatory structure based
upon sound science and real world cost benefit analyses. Today
we are going to talk about two of the most important of those
inputs, people and energy.
From time to time when examining the employment
opportunities and training programs for veterans, this
subcommittee, along with others, learns about veterans job
opportunities that are available in some of the traditional
economic sectors that are experiencing rapid growth. This
afternoon we will examine how to match unemployed veterans with
jobs in the energy sector.
Not only is this one of the fastest growing sectors of our
economy, it is also vital to the stability and strength of our
economy and to our national security. Recent growth in this
sector has put our nation on a path to be energy secure for the
first time in decades. This energy revolution has led to a
manufacturing renaissance generating attractive job
opportunities for hardworking American families that have been
hit hard by Washington's failed economic policies.
According to the American Enterprise Institute there has
been a 26 percent increase in new jobs in the energy sector
since 2008. Other studies have shown that for every one job
that is created in the energy sector, six other jobs are
created in other segments of our economy.
In order to ensure that veterans are not trapped in low
paying careers it is critical to tap into the skills and
abilities that they have already learned while they served our
country. We want them to find well paying jobs that help both
the economy and their families. Hardworking veterans are in
luck that the entry level positions in the energy sector are
not your average run of the mill lower wage jobs. In fact
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics the average
starting salary for oil and gas workers is more than $34,000 a
year, and with only a few years of experience many veterans can
earn six figure incomes. I believe that unlike the average
citizen veterans are in a unique position which makes them an
ideal fit for this thriving energy sector. They are highly
motivated, results driven, drug free, team oriented, and they
know how to get the job done right the first time.
As our witnesses will share with us today, and based on my
own personal experience with three decades in the oil and gas
industry, I know firsthand that veterans are a perfect fit for
this industry and their career goals. I also want to make it
clear that I am not just talking about growth potential within
the oil and gas industry. And as someone who has always
believed in an all of the above energy strategy, I know that
veterans are also great candidates for jobs in all energy
sectors, including emerging alternative energy industries.
As we all know the creation of home grown American energy
is not only in the best interest of our economy, but it is also
of keen importance to ending our dependence on foreign oil. As
I stated earlier, this is a key enabler of a robust economy.
Today we will hear first from a panel of schools and
training programs that are preparing veterans for careers in
the energy sector. And on our second panel we will highlight
some of the energy producers and companies who have shown the
way in terms of hiring veterans for quality jobs in the energy
sector.
With that, I will recognize Ranking Member Mr. Takano for
his opening remarks when he arrives.
OPENING STATEMENT OF RANKING MEMBER, MARK TAKANO
Mr. Flores. With that on our first panel today we have Mr.
Wesley Carr, President of PEC Safety; Colonel Randy Wooten,
President of the Texas State Technical College in Marshall,
Texas, and who retired from the United States Air Force.
Colonel, I want to thank you for your service. And last we have
Mr. Tyrone Everett, the East Coast and Mid/Southwest Regional
Director for the Center for Employment Training. I thank all of
you for being here today. Mr. Carr, you are now recognized for
five minutes. Let us start with you.
STATEMENT OF WESLEY CARR
Mr. Carr. Thank you for this opportunity. I wanted to start
with just a quick history of what we do so it would explain
kind of where we come from.
PEC Safety was started to standardize safety practices in
the oil and gas industry. What was happening was contractors
who all work for the same oil companies were having to go
through multiple programs instead of having one that really was
standardized to save time and money. So we have been doing that
for several years. It has kind of become the standard for the
industry, the Safe Gulf and Safe Land programs that a lot of
the industry knows about.
In 2000 we decided to start a program that would help
people gain employment, because we kept hearing from these
contractors saying we do not have people. We can find people
but when we do they are not trained, that type of thing. What
happens in the oil and gas industries, when you train people
because of the nature of the industry, because of regulations,
you can spend a good amount of money just getting a guy ready
to go to work. If that guy sees a quarter more an hour down the
road, or finds out this is not really for him, he moves on and
so do all those training dollars that were spent. So what we
did is we came up with some programs that we got funded through
the WIA, the Workforce Investment Act. We did that through the
federal government but in the states of Louisiana, Texas,
Alabama, and Mississippi. And so since 2000 we have been
training those people and placing them and we have got over 80
percent success rate in placing those guys.
A couple of years ago we decided it was time to get
something rolling for the veterans. And you know, what is
coming up in our industry and what is happening now is what
they call the great crew change. You have several thousands of
workers who are older who are now starting to retire and there
is not a good training ground out there to bring in the next
generation. So we decided we were going to do something about
it, basically. And so we have a partnership. We started a
division of our company called Battlefields to Oilfields. And
we started a partnership with Young Memorial Technical College
in South Louisiana. And we put together some programs to help
these guys get jobs.
And so the way we basically do it is we already know that
these veterans have skills that transfer great to the oil and
gas industry. They have got the work ethic, they show up on
time. Those two things right there will move you up a career
ladder in the oil and gas industry, just those two things. The
trick, though, is getting your foot in the door. And so the way
we have done it, and we have done with, in fact in 2013 we had
a 95 percent placement with our veterans. We do that by
offering training to them that is valuable, so valuable that it
is hard to turn them down is basically our M.O. with that.
So we have partnered with that program down there in South
Louisiana. And we have the ability to place literally as many
of these people, as many veterans that want jobs in the oil and
gas industry, we have the ability and the contacts to make that
happen. Right now you know, we are limited by the, basically
the rules, with the proprietary schools and that type of thing.
So we are limited on our location. But we are working
partnerships right now in Texas, North Dakota, with different
technical colleges to be able to open up facilities and where
we can, or use existing facilities, to be able to fund these
types of programs across the nation.
The jobs are numerous. The amount of money that they can
make, it is a good bit of money. They make good salaries. We
had probably an average of about $40,000 to $60,000 with the
ones that we placed, and that is based on a six-month working
year. So in other words, if they are working in shifts, as you
all know how it works, that is not counting any overtime. When
they get to the overtime is where the money really starts
piling in.
The good news too about all of this is, you know, we are
not really putting them in jobs. We are putting them in
something that will turn into a career if they put forth the
effort. You know, certifications do not equal jobs but
successful interviews do. And from there you could turn that
job into a career by staying on track.
Right now we have, the VA is, just did an audit on our
program, it is actually Young Memorial's program has been
audited. And there are a few findings. They have suspended it
until they get the report back to us and what we would like to
do is be able to, we are going to make this happen one way or
the other, if it is with everyone's cooperation or not. We are
dedicated to getting the veterans jobs. We have the companies
that want them. And we are going to make that connection one
way or the other. But we would like to be able to do it with
the VA's assistance and with other various programs that are
out there that we are researching currently.
So I do not know how this time is going. It seemed to start
over. But I hit it already?
Mr. Flores. You are about 30 seconds over. We can give you
about 30 seconds to wrap up and we will go to Colonel Wooten.
Mr. Carr. Okay, sure. So in a nutshell we have already
started reaching out. We have partnerships that we are
developing across the country. We have about 15,000 companies
that we deal with but on this level with the B2O program, our
Battlefields to Oilfields, we are partnering in Texas pretty
soon, North Dakota, California, and a few other hot spots.
Basically hitting the Bakken shale, the different shale and
plays that are out there. Because the jobs are out there. We
are there to help make that connection.
[The prepared statement of Wesley Carr appears in the
Appendix]
Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Carr. We appreciate what you are
doing. Colonel Wooten, you are recognized for five minutes. By
the way, the way the lights work, if the light is green you are
within the five-minute time window. If it is yellow, you have
got a minute left. If it is red, we need to wrap up. Thank you.
STATEMENT OF COLONEL RANDALL WOOTEN
Colonel Wooten. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Like my colleague
here, I am going to give a couple minutes of overview of what
TSTC is, and then I will launch right into it. TSTC was
established in 1965 as the James Connally Technical Institute,
part of Texas A&M University. It was located in Central Texas
at the former James Connally Air Force Base in Waco. JCTS
separated from A&M University in 1969 and became an independent
state system, with its own nine-member board and the name of
Texas State Technical Institute. In 1991 the Texas Legislature
elevated the status of TSTI's campuses by designating them a
Texas State Technical College. Since its inception, TSTC has
grown to include four colleges and several off-site teaching
locations.
TSTC is Texas' only state supported technical college. The
system currently has four main campuses: Waco, Harlingen,
Marshall, and West Texas. The West Texas location has
geographically dispersed locations in Abilene, Breckenridge,
Brownwood, and Sweetwater.
TSTC Colleges consistently ranked in the top producers of
associate degrees in engineering, precision production,
computer information systems, computer and information
sciences. The Community College Weekly annual report titled Top
100 Associate Degree Producers, TSTC consistently ranks number
one in Texas.
TSTC offers more than 150 associate and applied science
degrees and certificates and has produced nearly 100,000
graduates in its 49-year history. TSTC Harlingen also offers
seven associate of science degrees in biology, computer
science, engineering, mathematics, physics, nursing, and health
care professions.
The TSTC student is a diverse group. There are 66 percent
minorities, 57 percent Hispanic, nine percent Black, less than
one percent other minorities within that 66 percent. The rest,
34 percent, are White. The student body is comprised of 40
percent females and 60 percent males and they come from 200 of
Texas' 254 counties. And nearly 63 percent are economically
disadvantaged.
And now for the veterans part. TSTC is proud to have many
veterans and the armed services among its graduates. Of those,
many have earned certificates or degrees in instructional
programs that support careers in the energy sector. Two of
these are, one Sarah Kimball, graduated from TSTC West Texas
this year with a degree in computer aided drafting and design
technology. She had previously served in the U.S. Air Force and
has a bachelors degree in criminal justice. Before graduating
Sarah was hired by the Nicholas Consulting Group, a
multidisciplinary engineering design firm in Midland, Texas
with an above average starting salary. The second example is an
eight-year military veteran Christopher Bowdoin, who graduated
from TSTC Marshall also this year as a process operations
technician, a training which is attractive to a variety of
process industries, including chemical, food and beverage, oil
exploration, pharmaceutical, power generation, pulp and paper
refining, and wastewater treatment. Christopher transferred to
TSTC from another college and upon completion of his degree was
hired as a field specialist for Chevron, a worldwide energy
company.
Veteran enrollment in the current academic year has
surpassed 1,000 across all TSTC campuses. Approximately 30
percent of these students are enrolled in instructional
programs that support careers in the energy sector. All TSTC
campuses are designated military friendly schools, which are
those in the top 20 percent nationally and deliver the best
experience for our students. Additionally, all TSTC campuses
are participants in the Texas College Credit for Heroes
Initiative. This initiative is a partnership between the Texas
Workforce Commission and the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board.
The strength of TSTC's institutional programs rests in the
strong relationships each campus has with business and
industry. Each instructional program is supported by an
advisory council with members from the industry served by the
program.
According to statistics from the Office of Governor Perry,
the industry sector contributes more than $172 billion to the
Texas economy and that number is growing every year. The growth
is fueled in part by the use of new technologies, such as
hydraulic fracking and horizontal drilling. Nearly 900,000
Texans are employed in the energy sector today.
TSTC offers numerous instructional programs which are in
high demand in the oil, gas, and wind industries and are
booming in Texas. Although many of these programs support
multiple industry sectors they are also vital to the energy
sector. There are 21 of these programs that provide that
support.
Many TSTC students in these programs are veterans and the
technical skills they master at TSTC compliment their military
training resulting in a very high placement rate for these
graduates. We have also developed specialized programs to allow
veterans to accelerate their completion time by demonstrating
the skills they mastered while in the service. One of those
programs is the new competency based educational initiative
designed to shorten the time necessary to earn an award. This
competency based model does not sacrifice the quality of the
skills learned. We began offering this competency based
approach in the fall in two of our locations.
In conclusion, without exception the colleges within the
TSTC system are committed to serving U.S. military veterans.
TSTC is also committed to finding innovative educational
pathways for the efficient and cost effective transition of
these veterans into the workplace. Texas has long been a leader
in the energy sector. However, recent growth in that sector has
been exponential. That means veterans will continue to have
access to a wide array of jobs. Our partnership with industry
through advisory councils as well as collaborative efforts with
industry to design specialized curriculum ensure that students
graduate with job ready skills that match or exceed industry
standards. Therefore when industry wants qualified workers, it
comes to TSTC.
[The prepared statement of Colonel Randall Wooten appears
in the Appendix]
Mr. Flores. Thank you, Colonel Wooten. Mr. Everett, you are
recognized I guess for up to six and a half minutes.
STATEMENT OF TYRONE EVERETT
Mr. Everett. Thank you, Chairman Flores, and other
committee members, for this opportunity. My name is Tyrone
Everett and I am the Regional Director for the Center for
Employment Training. I recognize my title is quite a handful
because I cover the Midwest, Southwest, and the East Coast
operations with one of our training opportunities being in El
Paso, Texas.
CET is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that has been
providing job training, human development, and job placement
for over 47 years to hard to serve trainees. In the past 47
years we have placed over 135,000 men and women, including
veterans, in marketable living wage careers. The primary
purpose of our organization is to train people for full time
jobs and get them into the workforce. Our experience, over 47
years is that most people would prefer to be independent and
have control of their lives.
CET is training more and more job seekers in green industry
sector skills. Our decision about what we train in is driven by
our partnership with the industry. All of our skills are driven
by what is called a Technical Advisory Committee comprised of
industry experts that come and advise us what is going on in
the green sector both locally and on the regional levels;
because we find that many of our veterans work and play across
county lines. This way we are able to remain flexible to move
in and out of skills as we saturate the market. We will not
train in a skill wherein the industry has been saturated. We
will move out of that skill by training the final class, and
then move into a new skill--we are looking more and more at the
energy sector. In fact, our technical advisory committee
members are saying we are going to see greater diversity in the
green sector field, not only just heating and cooling but also
in the medical fields as well.
Currently we serve about seven percent veterans of all of
our trainees, and increasingly we are seeing more and more of
them come through our doors--we embrace that opportunity. We
hope we get to see more veterans. All 15 of our centers (in
five different states) are approved by the VA to serve
veterans. What we have found is that in some ways the veteran
is very easy to train because they come motivated, and they
usually have higher education levels. But they can also be the
most challenging because (frequently) veterans that have served
in combat, (particularly who have just come out of combat) come
with some special needs. And as a result, makes veterans
challenging to train. I'll get back to that a little bit later.
I would like to say that providing quality training in new
and growing demand green skills is enough to successfully train
and transition veterans from military service to civilian work.
Yet, more is required to equip veterans with the skills and
tools to obtain and maintain their meaningful employment. The
other component necessary for success is applied resources.
Specifically, immediate intensive supportive services while
they are in training that will address the pressures that
readjustment to civilian life can show for our recently
released combat veterans. At CET we take this head on because
we use a comprehensive training model that addresses barriers
to training while the individual is in training.
Our approach in green technology training uses a hands on
contextual model that provides skills training in a simulated
workplace and environment. All of our instructors are hired
from the industry. Students clock in and clock out just like
they might if they were at work. And, from the very beginning
they put their hands on the machines and tools that allow them
to learn.
But, the most important key to our training is the
certification. Without proper certification we find that our
veterans and our trainees do not get the jobs. So all of our
training and certifications are industry specific.
In closing, I want to get back to what I stated previously
about the importance of applied immediate resources. Boots on
the ground, what we are seeing and what we are witnessing is
that our veterans need to get to their benefits quicker. We are
seeing it is sometimes taking too long for them to access those
benefits that take down the barriers to training and
subsequently into employment. To this end we have only one
recommendation to the VA. That is services and benefits are
accessed within the first 90 days of discharge is very key if
requested. It is crucial they are able to get their
transitional resources, (particularly their mental health
resources and their housing vouchers) so that they have those
barriers out of the way and can focus on training.
And so I would like to state in closing we must all give
them the efforts and have the same sense of commitment and
dedication they have shown in the service of their country. We
all know that they have earned it. Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Tyrone Everett appears in the
Appendix]
Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Everett, for your testimony. I
now recognize the ranking member for five minutes for his
opening statements.
Mr. Takano. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to begin by
thanking Chairman Miller of the full committee and Ranking
Member Michaud of the full committee for their bipartisan
efforts in seeking to address allegations made regarding the
Department of Veterans Affairs wait lists. I know we all look
forward to the forthcoming report by the Inspector General. Our
veterans deserve the best and we will continue to work hard for
them and their families. And today we seek to look at another
issue affecting veterans, and that is employment.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for calling this hearing on
veterans employment and training programs in the energy sector.
I was pleased to hear some of the testimony so far about how
veterans can use their military experience to find meaningful
work in the energy sector.
Traditionally veterans have had some difficulty in
translating their military skill set into the civilian work
force. The witnesses here today have all dedicated themselves
to helping bridge that gap to training and employing veterans
who bring tangible skills to the table. I am looking forward to
hearing our panelists speak on how they have successfully
matched veterans with job opportunities. I'm also looking
forward to hearing about what kinds of job opportunities are
available for veterans. The energy industry continues to grow
at an exponential rate in both traditional and renewable
energy. I understand that the range of available jobs will give
my fellow members and I a better perspective on the impact the
industry can have for all of our veterans who are seeking
employment.
I would like to express my gratitude to all of these
organizations, to all the organizations that are present today.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for scheduling this hearing today, and
I yield back.
Mr. Flores. I thank the ranking member and I would now
recognize myself for five minutes for questions. The first
question starts out with a statement. I really like your
approach to working with employers to ensure that the training
you provide is up to date and marketable for the future success
of veterans. And my question for each of you is this to start
with. How often do each of you meet with employers to find out
how to keep your curriculum up to date and on the leading edge?
Let us start with Mr. Carr.
Mr. Carr. Okay. We actually have a few committees that do
this, that is made up of the oil companies and the contractors.
We have a group called the Operator Development Team and also a
Contractor Development Team. And we also have industry
regulatory experts on staff and that we reach out to. And so we
just make sure, we know we keep our ear to the ground. We know
what the new regulations, like the new silica change that came
out recently, those types of things. So we also know, we pay
attention to region. So in the Midwest, or in the Northeast,
you know, middle region, you are not going to need water
survival, that type of thing unless they, some of those workers
do transfer around. But that is how we do it. We are part of
the curriculum committees for those groups and so we are
getting it firsthand from the actual companies with regulatory
bodies on board.
Mr. Flores. Okay. Thank you. Colonel Wooten.
Colonel Wooten. Yes, sir. We primarily do it through our
programs. For instance, the welding program or the diesel
program of the industrial maintenance program, each of those
would have committees or advisory committees and we meet with
them at least twice a year. We also then meet with associations
like the Gulf Coast Energy Association that is made up of a lot
of different components. And so we meet with those folks about
twice a year also. And they always send representatives up and
sometimes we go down to their location to meet with them. So it
is an ongoing process in actuality.
Mr. Flores. Okay. Mr. Everett.
Mr. Everett. Thank you. We have what is called a Technical
Advisory Committee that is comprised of the industry that they
represent. Also, all of our instructors are people that we hire
from the industry that are specific to a skill, for example
heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. We will hire an
HVAC man or woman to do the actual training. We keep current by
looking at what is going on in the industry. The Technical
Advisory Committee meets once a quarter, so that is about four
times a year that they meet. They come in and they look at the
equipment and tools, the software that we are using, and they
for the most part give us their approval, or say, no we are not
looking at, we do not see that widget out here anymore, you
have got to change that. So we try to stay on the cutting edge
of the technology and resources needed to complete a particular
skill.
Mr. Flores. Okay. Mr. Carr, I do not think you said,
Colonel Wooten said they met two times a year, Mr. Everett said
they met four times per year, how many times per year does your
organization meet with employers?
Mr. Carr. Well we have committee meetings that probably
happen about once a quarter.
Mr. Flores. Okay.
Mr. Carr. And then committee, the subcommittees for
training curriculum meet probably once every two months or so.
Mr. Flores. Okay. Mr. Everett, you had mentioned that our
veterans often have problems accessing their benefits. And I am
not sure I caught all of what you said. I think you said mental
benefit, transportation benefits----
Mr. Everett. Yes.
Mr. Flores [continuing]. And housing. But are you talking
about G.I. Bill benefits, or broader than G.I. Bill benefits?
Mr. Everett. I am talking about G.I. Bill benefits. They
often go back to their representatives locally to try to access
those benefits and sometimes the wait is rather extensive. And
what we try to do at CET, because we are a holistic approach,
we try to wrap around as many local services around them as we
can to keep them in training because we know that is where they
want to be. But sometimes it promotes a challenge because local
resources are sometimes limited. So we try to do our best to
keep them in and propped up into training.
Mr. Flores. Okay. I appreciate your feedback on that. We
are working also with the VA to try to create a better more
holistic way to get the benefits to the veterans in a quicker
manner. And so we still have this tug of war to get that done.
Mr. Everett. Thank you.
Mr. Flores. Let us go to Mr. Carr. Can you tell me about
your placement rate? I mean, how many of the folks that come
through your B2O program are actually getting jobs and what has
been the feedback of the veterans that have been placed in
those jobs?
Mr. Carr. Sure. In 2013, which is when we started this
program, we have been doing these types of programs since 2000.
But in 2013 we placed 95 percent. And so far this year we are
around 80 percent. But we are still, some of those people just
graduated, so.
Mr. Flores. Mr. Everett, what is your placement rate?
Mr. Everett. Across the board we are right between 70 and
75 percent placement rate across the board. And we have found,
and you have one of our testimonials in my packet, our veterans
tend to be around the 90 percent----
Mr. Flores. Great.
Mr. Everett [continuing]. That we can keep them in
training. And they usually will make anywhere from $2 to $3
more an hour than our other trainees once they graduate.
Mr. Flores. I thank you all. I am going to recognize the
ranking member for five minutes for his questions. Mr. Takano.
Mr. Takano. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Carr, thank you
for being here today. Can you tell me, are the credits that are
earned by a student enrolled in a PEC program transferrable?
Mr. Carr. Yes.
Mr. Takano. And are they transferrable to both regionally
accredited institutions as well as nationally accredited
institutions?
Mr. Carr. Well the credits that they earn through our
programs are, first of all they are industry recognized and
they are regulatory, you know, they meet all regulatory
requirements. So a group like OSHA will not say, hey, you know,
so you are certified, but they will make sure that you meet
those requirements. So where they are transferrable is from
company to company across the industry. You will see if, you
know, ABC Company hires someone, and that veteran has all that
training, and they decide that they want to go to XYZ, that
training will transfer over. But it is not, these are not
college credits----
Mr. Takano. It is an industry certification?
Mr. Carr. Yes, sir.
Mr. Takano. Okay. Can you tell me the five items that the
VA has asked PEC to address----
Mr. Carr. Yes, sir.
Mr. Takano [continuing]. For their South Central Louisiana
Technical College Program?
Mr. Carr. Absolutely. And just so, to be clear, the
approval from the VA is through, we are contracted by South
Central Louisiana Technical College. But the findings were that
they were, let us see, the 85-15 rule about the public versus
the, and so with that ruling we actually have had, they put
thousands and thousands of people through these programs, and
we have too put over 500,000. But the way we package the VA
program, that combination of courses has not had the 85-15. So
we should be able to clear that up. They actually, one of them
was that they put our corporate office location and said that
it was not approved for a proprietary license. But we do not do
any training there so that should be simple to clear up. They
said that only one person, I believe, qualified through Chapter
31 and the rest were all G.I. Bill, Post 9/11. One was that we
are not, like I said earlier, we are not a proprietary school
so we were not approved through the VA. So we were using, we
were contracted by the one that has the school, the South
Louisiana Technical College. And the other is, and I believe we
talked to them about this ahead of time. But the food and
lodging is part of what they do. Because when they come it is
not like a semester where they go to college. They come to our
class for basically right now a month straight. And so they are
living in, we have created an offshore environment to make sure
they know what they are getting into. So they are living on
site. They are eating there. They are training in that
environment. They are living in the bunks just like they would
in an offshore facility. So those were the five things.
Mr. Takano. Okay. Can you tell me how you propose to carve
out an exception for the in state two-year requirements for
PEC?
Mr. Carr. Yes, sir. We actually, well, the only way I would
note, are you talking about how we think we could solve that
problem?
Mr. Takano. Yes.
Mr. Carr. We actually are working on that right now. I do
not know how you get an exemption or anything like that from
it. This is just kind of new for us. We just want to give
veterans jobs, right? So we can partner with different schools
that have that, have had that proprietary license. But at the
same time these programs that we are teaching the veterans, it
is really nothing new. It is things that we have been doing for
years and years along with the school. We just have not had it
packaged in this exact way and I think that is what is drawing
the red flag on it.
Mr. Takano. Okay. Thank you. Colonel Wooten, do you see a
significant amount of your students who want to continue their
education and receive a formal four-year degree, economic
degree? Are a significant number of your students wanting to go
on to complete a four-year degree?
Colonel Wooten. That is possible.
Mr. Takano. Are the credits transferrable, the credits
earned by TSTC transferrable to other institutions?
Colonel Wooten. Yes, sir. We have an AAS degree which is a
standalone, typically viewed as a terminal degree because it
may be in process operations. We also have matriculation
agreements with 12 other colleges and universities in Texas
where they can take those with them just like any other two-
year school and get a bachelors in applied science.
Mr. Takano. And are these typically regionally accredited
schools?
Colonel Wooten. Yes, sir. All of our schools are regionally
accredited.
Mr. Takano. That is wonderful to hear. Mr. Everett, can you
tell me about the credit transfer? How are your centers
accredited? Can you just tell me that real quick?
Mr. Everett. Yes. We are accredited through the Council on
Occupational Education out of Atlanta, Georgia, and all of our
centers are also locally accredited by the states. Our credits
are transferrable to the local community colleges.
Mr. Takano. Well, that is good.
Mr. Everett. Yes, we are a post-secondary school. In fact
one of our categories of excellence is that we try to encourage
them to continue, along with working, but to continue their
education so that they can turn their training into a career
track.
Mr. Takano. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. My time is up.
Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Takano. Mr. Cook, you are
recognized for five minutes.
Mr. Cook. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you for testifying.
And first of all, I am going to ask you a question. You have a
lot of experience in this area. I am an employer and I go to
you and I am going to say what are the three best things that
veterans bring to the table when I am looking at them for
hiring? Anybody, real quick answers?
Colonel Wooten. Work ethic, discipline, and dependability.
Mr. Cook. Everyone else agree with that?
Mr. Everett. Absolutely.
Mr. Cook. Okay. And I kind of figured that one. That one I
had figured out. But there is a number of veterans that never
make it through the process. Why do you think they wash out?
What are the three things that, you know, if somebody is
looking at them, you know, everybody is patriotic, everything,
there has got to be something there. And what do you find? Is
there a common denominator that comes across, either a stigma
that is associated with veterans, or what have you? I know this
is a, you know, theoretical question. But there has got to be a
reason why sometimes they cannot put it down on paper, or what
have you. But there has got to be a reason why they do not get
it. Anyone? Yes, sir.
Colonel Wooten. Stress. Stress they carry back from combat.
Some of the wounds that they have, you do not see them. Some of
the wounds are not diagnosed. One of the ways we get around
that, or accommodate that would be a better term, is that we
have associations of veterans on our campus and we find that
when they are amongst their buddies and can share their stories
and have people that they believe understand them better than
an 18- or a 19-year-old student would, they are more
successful. And so we spend a lot of our time in what I call
the care and feeding of our vets to make sure they feel like
they belong, they have someone to talk to, and they have
someone they can depend on.
Mr. Cook. Thank you. Yes, sir.
Mr. Everett. Yes. Our three top barriers that we see is
transportation, housing, and mental health. Because we provide
wrap around services sometimes our veterans, men and women, end
up at the Department of Social Services and that hurts their
pride. They do not feel like they want to come and serve their
country and then end up on welfare. That is not what they want.
They feel like they are entitled to services as a result of
being a vet and that is where they prefer to get their
resources. So we try to work very closely with our local VA to
impress upon them that these young ladies and gentlemen, they
are not just trying to rob the system. They need these
services. And if you can help them, if you could do this in an
expeditious manner. Because that is the way they want to go.
They want control of their lives.
Mr. Cook. Thank you. Yes, sir.
Mr. Carr. Yes. I want to add too that part of, because
there sometimes is not that training in between their services
and the job placement, that there is uncertainty from the
veteran's side, where he does not, he or she may not know what
they are getting into. But there is also a little bit of
concern from the employer. When they go through the proper
training, then they feel like, well, you know what? This person
knows what they are getting into and they have at least
achieved this as far as the oil and gas side of things. So
there is a comfort level there, too.
Mr. Cook. Let me ask you based upon your answer there, and
I think this is something that has happened in the last few
years. That I do think there is a stigma because of Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder and everything else that half the
veterans that come out of there are basket cases. And I think
the VA, I think we, I think everyone in American society has
encouraged that. Yes, the military is stressful. Combat is
stressful. But you have got to suck it up, do your job, and get
it done. And instead we are conveying this attitude that
everyone comes out and they cannot handle them. I am sorry.
They had to handle them. And I think that negative approach has
almost put a cloud over veterans in general, or oh yes, here
somebody that has got a problem, they are going to use drugs.
Or we have concentrated so much on the problems that we have
forgotten the hundreds of thousands of people that came out
that were successful. And I think sometimes we do it in here,
we are always looking at the negative instead of all these
positive things which has skewed maybe some of our outlook. So
that was a statement, but I want to thank you very much for
testifying. I am almost done. Thank you.
Mr. Flores. Colonel Cook, I thank you for your questions. I
thank the first panel for their testimony. We appreciate what
you are doing for our nation's veterans and we ask you to to
keep up the good work. And keep the subcommittee informed as to
your successes and your challenges. Mr. Everett, I appreciate
you talking about some of the issues that our veterans face
with respect to G.I. Bill benefits so keep us posted as you see
things change, moving forward.
With that, this panel is excused and we are going to invite
the second panel to come to the witness table. On our second
panel we have Mr. Jay Hawkins, who is the Vice President for
Human Resources for Chesapeake Energy; Mr. Mark Szabo, Team
Lead for Military Recruiting at Baker Hughes, and who also
served in the U.S. Army Reserve Military Police Corps. We thank
you for your service. And finally we have Mr. John Simon,
Senior Vice President for Human Resources at Pacific Gas and
Electric Company, here on behalf of the Center for Energy
Workforce Development. I thank each of you for joining us
today. Mr. Hawkins, you are now recognized for five minutes for
your testimony.
STATEMENT OF MR. JAY HAWKINS
Mr. Hawkins. Chairman Flores and members of the
subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity today to discuss
Chesapeake Energy Corporation's veterans hiring program which
has become a remarkable success story for our company. I am Jay
Hawkins, Vice President of Human Resources for Chesapeake.
Chesapeake is based in Oklahoma City and is the nation's
second largest producer of natural gas and the 11th largest
producer of oil and natural gas liquids. We are proud to have
helped lead the way in what has become known as the oil and gas
shale revolution. This domestic supply revolution has taken
place across the U.S. creating jobs, generating significant
economic activity, and changing our nation's energy future.
This includes reducing our dependence on foreign oil and
helping offer energy solutions for some of our allies around
the world.
I am here today because as a part of our success in recent
years our company is also a top employer of veterans as well as
members of the Reserve and Guard. I am honored to say that
these employees represent about 11 percent of our total
employee base. This is especially significant as this hiring
has occurred during a recessionary period when many tens of
thousands of veterans were returning home seeking employment.
Of note the average annual salary of these veterans at
Chesapeake is $61,500.
Our efforts to recruit military servicemen and servicewomen
began in 2008. But what originally started as a small component
of our recruiting efforts quickly grew into a organic success.
Our targeted recruiting outreach has resulted in the current
employment of about 1,200 veterans or members of the Guard and
Reserve in positions ranging from rig hands to engineers. In
fact of the nearly 3,000 employees hired by Chesapeake in 2013
about 200 were members of the Guard and Reserve and 230 were
veterans.
Initially Chesapeake recruited only junior military
officers, lieutenants and captains retiring from the service in
specialized positions. But we quickly expanded our efforts to
include hiring former enlisted personnel to work in the field
realizing these men and women could be a natural fit. For
instance, many maintenance and electronic technicians were
trained in the military and we were able to naturally
transition their experience to the oil and gas industry.
Our specific recruitment efforts include participation in
veteran recruiting fairs. Chesapeake attended about 50 in 2013.
And a veterans only email address where military candidates can
contact our recruiters directly. In total, 15 percent of our
2013 recruiting budget was dedicated to recruiting veterans.
The result of the continued success of our program is that
today we plan to add military veterans in locations across the
country, including Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Pennsylvania, and
Louisiana, in positions like field engineers, environmental
health and safety representatives, pumpers, equipment
operators, business analysts, and rig hands.
Once hired, Chesapeake works hard to help our veteran
employees during their transition. In 2011 we created CHK Troop
Connect, an online community where employees with military
affiliation and their families can connect and support each
other as they transition to civilian life and begin new
careers. CHK Troop Connect offers Guard, Reserve, and veteran
employees, and employees with military family members,
opportunities to connect with each other, plan activities, and
share stories. This group hosts networking events, community
service projects, welcome home and farewell gatherings, and
other military focused activities. We understand this support
and continued transition assistance is vital.
Moreover, just this month we were pleased to announce a new
military differential pay benefit for all full time Chesapeake
employees who have completed at least one year of employment
and are called to active duty or military training for 30 or
more days. Under this benefit our company will pay the
difference between an eligible employee's Chesapeake salary and
his or her military pay as a lump sum amount upon return to
work.
While we know that veterans have an unmatched work ethic,
commitment to teamwork and leadership skills, we now directly
benefit from these skills and contributions on a daily basis.
Our CEO said to our employees on Veterans Day 2013 when senior
management and supervisors also presented each servicemember
with a commemorative coin in individual ceremonies, and I
quote, ``these individuals provide strength, stability, and
commitment to our company in addition to the diverse skills and
expertise that are essential to our success.''
Mr. Chairman, you have certainly seen the economic and job
creation results firsthand in your home state of Texas. And as
a number of the members of this subcommittee have seen in your
own states the timing of the growth of our industry has made
this particularly great news. Unlike most industries the oil
and gas industry has experienced growth during a recessionary
period and the outlook for jobs only looks brighter in the
future.
In summary, our veterans hiring efforts have truly proven
to be a win-win for our company and for the many men and women
of our armed services who now have found exciting and rewarding
careers with Chesapeake. We are proud that this program
provides a solution for our needs as well as our returning
veteran employment needs, all while continuing to advance what
has become one of the nation's greatest stories, the oil and
gas shale revolution.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to be with you
here today. I look forward to any questions.
[The prepared statement of Jay Hawkins appears in the
Appendix]
Mr. Flores. Mr. Hawkins, thank you for your testimony. Mr.
Szabo. Did I say that correct?
Mr. Szabo. Yes, sir.
Mr. Flores. Thank you. You are recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF MR. MARK SZABO
Mr. Szabo. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Takano,
members of the subcommittee, good afternoon. I am Mark Szabo,
Team Lead for the Military Recruiting Program at Baker Hughes,
Inc. As someone who spent 16 years in service with the U.S.
Army Reserve I feel extraordinarily privileged to have made a
career out of attracting our veterans to the energy sector. I
thank you for the great honor of appearing before you today.
Baker Hughes is a leading supplier of oil field services,
products, systems, and technology to the worldwide oil, natural
gas, and geothermal industries. While we work in nearly 80
countries approximately half of more than our 58,000 employees
are based here in the United States where we conduct the
majority of our manufacturing, field services, and research and
development. It is here in the United States that advanced
exploration and producing technologies have perhaps had the
most dramatic effect on increasing oil and natural gas
supplies.
This growth brings tremendous job opportunities at a time
when a large number of servicemen and women are leaving the
military. My mission and that of the entire Baker Hughes
military recruiting team is to bring the immense talents and
work ethic of our men and women in uniform to bear on energy
production. This makes good business sense to us. But in the
words of our CEO Martin Craighead, Welcoming our veterans home
to meaningful, well paid jobs is simply ``the right thing to
do.''
Baker Hughes has long sought veterans for our field work,
where the value of their experience is easily apparent.
Mechanical assembly, field operations, machining, repair and
maintenance, and logical coordination all fit within this
category. However, we seek out veteran applicants at all levels
of the company, including in corporate and enterprise positions
because we believe that military service fosters core values
that align very well with Baker Hughes' core values of
integrity, teamwork, performance excellence, learning, and
courage. Almost all the members of my team are veterans
themselves and we bring that experience to bear on our approach
to recruiting. We have developed a multi-pronged approach to
ensure that we are reaching veterans at any stage of the
transition to the private sector. We reach out to current
servicemen and women at military installations throughout the
U.S. and to veterans by participating in military specific job
fairs. We also partner with several universities with high
veteran populations, as well as state veteran workforce
commissions. We encourage veterans who are already members of
the Baker Hughes community to refer their former colleagues.
In 2013 we conducted a total of 60 military recruiting
events, with that face to face contact translating directly
into 175 hires, with many more hires coming through traffic
driven to our recruiting website. Our intention is to more than
double that number in 2014. I am pleased to report that so far
we are on that pace. We held 23 military recruiting events in
the first quarter of 2014, hiring an additional 145 veterans.
We are essentially hiring a veteran a day.
We believe it is important to continue that engagement
beyond the hiring process to maintain it as a consistent thread
in our employees' experience. To that end we have established a
veterans resource group to support veterans transitioning to
Baker Hughes from active duty and to connect them to each other
and with mentors within the company, creating a vibrant network
for continuing professional and personal development. This
program has been enormously popular since its launch in 2013.
Seventeen local chapters have already been established in
Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and many more are
underway in places like California, Colorado, and North Dakota.
It will come as no surprise to the subcommittee that these
chapters once formed turn their focus almost instantly to
making a difference in the lives of other veterans.
Baker Hughes also believes strongly in supporting those
employees who continue to serve our country in the military
Reserves. We have policies in place to ensure our National
Guard and Reserve employees are aware of and receive their
benefits. As our employees are called up, Baker Hughes pays the
difference between their base salary with us and their military
base pay from 30 days annually for training, up to 180 days for
an involuntary call to active duty.
Baker Hughes was recently recognized with an ESGR Pro
Patriot Award in New Mexico and I am proud to say that the
company is a finalist for the 2014 Secretary of Defense
Employer Support Freedom Award. Like our Veterans Resource
Group, this is a great program made great through the
dedication and spirit of our employees.
We applaud the subcommittee for shining a light on the
opportunities available to veterans in the energy industry and
we are pleased to do our part. I look forward to the
discussion. Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mark Szabo appears in the
Appendix]
Mr. Flores. Mr. Szabo, thank you for your testimony. Mr.
Simon, you are recognized for five minutes.
STATEMENT OF MR. JOHN SIMON
Mr. Simon. Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, good
afternoon. My name is John Simon. I oversee human resources for
Pacific Gas and Electric Company, or PG&E. Today I am
representing both PG&E and the Center for Energy Workforce
Development, CEWD.
PG&E is one of the largest combined natural gas and
electric utilities in the country. We serve about 15 million
people in Northern and Central California. My job is to provide
the talent we need to deliver energy safely, reliably, and
affordably to our customers. At PG&E we work closely with CEWD,
a nonprofit group of utilities and trade associations, that
together partner with labor to address the pending workforce
shortages facing our industry.
Four years ago CEWD and the Edison Electric Institute
launched the Troops to Energy Jobs Program. The program was
piloted by six utilities across the U.S., including PG&E. Its
purpose is to connect veterans to utility jobs.
CEWD projects that as many as 200,000 electric and gas
utility workers are eligible to retire in the next five years.
That is about 40 percent of the utility workforce. Worth
repeating, 40 percent of the utility workforce. Beyond these
retirements thousands more workers will be needed, engineers,
technicians, line workers, plant and system operators,
mechanics, welders, cyber experts. And that is because the
utility industry expects to invest nearly $2 trillion to
enhance and modernize energy infrastructure over the next
decade. At the same time veterans are returning from active
duty and are having trouble finding jobs. And it was the
Department of Veterans Affairs that determined about 190,000
active duty personnel will leave the military annually over the
next 25 years.
The need for a highly skilled utility workforce plus a
pipeline of qualified veterans truly creates a win-win
opportunity. We need to act and we need to do it now. Our
industry has been a leader in veterans hiring. We know the
return on the investment. Veterans have the training and skills
we require, from their expertise to their inherent sense of
safety, duty, and leadership. That is why in 2013 PG&E hired
more than 150 veterans. And since 2010 veterans comprise more
than seven percent of our overall hires, it is a bit closer to
eight percent now. These numbers increase when considering
veterans PG&E trained yet placed at other companies.
We believe the right approach to hiring veterans is a
holistic approach used by companies like those participating in
Troops to Energy Jobs. It includes strategies to identify,
train, hire, retain veterans, and like my colleagues have said
to mentor them once they are hired. It starts by working with
military bases to identify personnel with the right basic
skills leaving the military, then translating these skills to
energy jobs.
In 2013 Troops to Energy launched a national template for
veterans hiring. It is a roadmap that covers outreach,
education, recruiting, and retention. It also has guidance on
how to transfer military training to energy careers, on
continuing education programs to gain new credentials or
degrees, and it addresses strategies for identifying candidates
with military experience.
PG&E's approach to veteran training and hiring follows the
Troops to Energy Jobs roadmap. Our program is called Power
Pathway. And through it we run our Bridge to Utility Worker
Program targeting veterans. This program is conducted in
partnership with community colleges, workforce investment
boards, veterans groups, military bases, and labor to prepare
veterans for jobs in the utility industry. It is an ecosystem
that makes it work.
Since 2008 more than 450 people have graduated from Power
Pathway, including 250 veterans. Today approximately 85 percent
of graduates find employment either at PG&E or in the industry,
usually with better retention rates based on someone not coming
through the program.
In addition to recruiting veterans we are focused like the
others on providing mentoring, coaching, training to help
ensure we retain and grow the veterans we hire. In 2011 we
established a veterans employee resource group to support PG&E
employees with military backgrounds. It is now 700 employees
strong in just two years.
I will conclude by summarizing what we believe is the most
important thing in getting veterans hired and retained, it is
actually things. Alignment of military and job classifications;
getting information on which bases have personnel with the
right skills; access to military personnel during the off
boarding process; training programs with targeted veteran
cohorts and mentoring programs once hired. As an industry we
are very committed to the cause. And I thank you so much for
having me here today.
[The prepared statement of John Simon appears in the
Appendix]
Mr. Flores. Mr. Simon, thank you for your testimony. I will
recognize myself for the questions to begin. Mr. Hawkins you
talked about the average pay that a Chesapeake veteran makes.
What is the average starting pay for a veteran coming into
Chesapeake? Do you have that metric off the top of your head?
Mr. Hawkins. You know, it is, I do not have that exact
metric. I would say it is in the forties, is mostly where our
starting pay is.
Mr. Flores. Okay. Okay. Mr. Szabo, do you have those same
metrics, average starting salary and average salary for
veterans at Baker Hughes?
Mr. Szabo. Unfortunately, sir, I do not have that data.
Mr. Flores. Okay. Would that be hard to get, to put
together?
Mr. Szabo. Probably not.
Mr. Flores. Okay. If you can, if you could send that
supplementally to us later that would be great.
Mr. Szabo. Thank you.
Mr. Flores. Mr. Simon, do you have that information for----
Mr. Simon. I do. We have different jobs we are hiring for.
But as an example an apprentice lineman would start at $52,000.
Mr. Flores. Golly, that is pretty good. If you would, if
you can supplementally provide the information for average
starting salary for all the veterans that you hire, and then
their average for everybody in the company? If it is not
proprietary for any of you, that would be very helpful. Because
it has always been my opinion that this is a great industry to
build great middle class jobs for hardworking Americans,
particularly our veterans community.
Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Szabo, you both talked about coming up
with a pay differential when Guard or Reserve units are called
up. Mr. Simon, does PG&E do the same thing?
Mr. Simon. Yes, we have a similar policy.
Mr. Flores. You do?
Mr. Simon. Yes.
Mr. Flores. Okay. Do any of you know what the aggregate
amount is that you are paying for those pay differentials for
each of your companies? Okay. If you can provide it, Mr.
Szabo----
Mr. Szabo. Sir, that is going to depend on the individual's
rank.
Mr. Flores. Right, but I mean in the aggregate. Like does
Baker Hughes, does that total for Baker Hughes $20 million a
year? Or----
Mr. Szabo. I would not know that detail.
Mr. Flores. Okay. Okay. If that is not hard to find, that
would be great. If it is, again, if it is proprietary, do not
worry about it. It is not a big deal. What, Mr. Simon, you
talked a little bit about what would make it easier for PG&E to
recruit vets, what the Veterans Administration and DoD could do
to help make it easier. I would like to have Mr. Hawkins and
Mr. Szabo, if each of you could comment on what would make it
easier for Chesapeake and Baker Hughes respectively to hire
veterans?
Mr. Hawkins. You know, I think it is back to those wrap
around services. I mean, we try to get our employees to
benefits as soon as possible. But if anything that people, and
especially veterans, struggle with it is access to resources.
Even though they know where they are, you know, they may have
been provided a list, it is that follow up wrap around services
to check back and make sure that they are accessing the right
things.
Mr. Flores. Okay. Mr. Szabo.
Mr. Szabo. Yes, sir. I believe that we are doing a very
good job through the ACAP and TAP programs in preparing
soldiers and servicemen for the transition. However, some of
the pitfall that we see is that they do not have the
appropriate certifications at the time that they are still in
uniform. So by the time we actually see those individuals out
at a military specific job fair, we are trying to give them
that information to go and obtain a certification, you know, a
CDL license, a Class A with a hazmat certification. Some of
them would like to go into project management, so we try to
give them some directions on how to go down that road and
obtain a PMP certification through the Project Management
Institute. Those specific types of certifications for those
specific types of opportunities that they are looking for they
seem to not be getting that information until they exit the
service. So getting that information and perhaps giving them
that training while they are still in uniform I believe would
streamline the process.
Mr. Flores. Okay. There are, there is a category of state
services. One is called Disabled Veteran Outreach Program
Specialists, or DVOPS, and then another one is called Local
Veteran Employment Representatives, or LVERs. Do any of your
companies work with DVOPS or LVERs to try to find employees to
add to your workforce?
Mr. Simon. I believe, Mr. Chairman. I do not have the
information off the top of my head. I would like to send it to
you, if that is okay?
Mr. Flores. Okay. That would be good.
Mr. Hawkins. As far as Chesapeake goes, we have dedicated
recruiters that work strictly military recruiting and they do
utilize both of those.
Mr. Flores. Okay. They look to the state resources as well?
Mr. Hawkins. They do.
Mr. Flores. Okay.
Mr. Szabo. It is the same for Baker Hughes, sir.
Mr. Flores. Okay. Gentleman, I appreciate your testimony. I
am going to yield my time to Mr. Takano for five minutes for
his questions.
Mr. Takano. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Simon, you may
know that Congressman Cook and I are both sponsors of a bill
that would try to replicate the success of our Work for
Warriors program in California. Are you familiar with that
program? And does PG&E work with them to place Reservists and
Guardsmen?
Mr. Simon. We do, Mr. Takano. We do, Congressman.
Mr. Takano. Well, that is great. Well, thank you. I wanted
to ask you, currently where are veterans being trained for jobs
in the utility sector? Where are they being trained for jobs in
your sector?
Mr. Simon. In our program?
Mr. Takano. Yes.
Mr. Simon. Power Pathway? They are trained at community
colleges which are sprinkled throughout our territory in
Central and Northern California. There are several different
community colleges.
Mr. Takano. So you work with the California community
colleges for the training?
Mr. Simon. We do.
Mr. Takano. That is great. Mr. Hawkins, how much does the
training institution matter when considering hiring a new
employee? Does the institution where a new employee received
their training factor into the hiring decision?
Mr. Hawkins. We do find that some institutions do provide
additional training that others do not. We do partner with
mostly vocational and technical schools for our field based
training.
Mr. Takano. And what kind of job training is available for
your new hires once they are brought on board?
Mr. Hawkins. We do. We have specific field based training
that we do in house. And if they are brought into a more
technical role, a professional level engineering role, we do
have in house as well as contracted services for professional
development.
Mr. Takano. And when you contract out, are they also with
the same technical schools or community colleges?
Mr. Hawkins. It varies.
Mr. Takano. It varies.
Mr. Hawkins. It basically, whatever is required for the
job. It could be around automation, it could be around a
specific software, it would be equipment based. So then we
would be working with whoever our partner is in our field
locations.
Mr. Takano. And is the cost associated with it picked up by
the company?
Mr. Simon. Absolutely.
Mr. Takano. Or is it shared with the employee?
Mr. Simon. No, it is a company expense.
Mr. Takano. Mr. Szabo, or is it Mr. Szabo?
Mr. Szabo. Yes, sir.
Mr. Takano. Mr. Szabo, have you seen a difference between
the quality of institutions where students are trained, are
some good, or some better, or some not so good?
Mr. Szabo. Absolutely. There are quite a few universities
that we partner with for our field engineer program. Obviously
they offer top notch engineering types of degree programs. For
our field specialist programs we target two-year particular
associate degree types of degrees. Also we target the tech and
trade schools. But as you previously asked the former panel,
are they regionally accredited, are they nationally accredited?
We certainly look for those regionally accredited schools.
Mr. Takano. So why do you look for that type of
accreditation?
Mr. Szabo. We just actually that those certain
accreditations regionally are going through a very high
academic rigorous standard.
Mr. Takano. And typically these are also fungible credits
they can----
Mr. Szabo. That is correct.
Mr. Takano. Your employees can also layer another degree on
top of this----
Mr. Szabo. That is correct.
Mr. Takano [continuing]. Because they are transferrable?
Mr. Szabo. That is correct.
Mr. Takano. Well that is great. Thank you so much. I yield
back my time, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Takano. Mr. Cook, you are
recognized for five minutes.
Mr. Cook. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Simon, first of all I
am going to be very parochial. Since you represent California
and Pacific Gas & Electric, and the West Coast, I was Chair of
the Veterans Committee out there and your company or
corporation has done a great job for years. So I appreciate
that.
Mr. Simon. Thank you.
Mr. Cook. As well as the other, the whole energy industry
compared to some other people. I think they get it in terms of
hiring veterans.
Now I am going to put you on the spot after that and we
might as well start with Mr. Simon. You have got a month to go,
you are going to retire, you are going to go to England, you
are going to become a beekeeper like Sherlock Holmes. And
somebody asks you the question, you know, when you had the job,
what was the biggest problem with the federal government? Was
it getting on bases? Or were they giving you the run around? If
you had nothing to lose, you are going out the door, and simple
question, right? So could you----
Mr. Simon. The first problem is that I cannot afford the
taxes in England. But past that----
Mr. Cook. How do you pay them in California?
Mr. Simon. I understand the spirit of the question. I think
the biggest issue that I would talk about is the lack of
coordination between federal agencies. Whether it is skills
translation, getting access to military bases, whether it is
having standardized credentials that are recognized by private
companies like ours. We deal with the DoD, we deal with the
DOE, we deal with the DOL. And I think but to a much lesser
extent, candidly we deal with the VA. And it feels like the
right hand might now know what the left hand is doing.
Mr. Cook. How about individual, I do not want to call out,
or individual service. But do you get the run around when
trying to get on bases to--for job fairs? And this question is
for everybody. Because that I think we can kind of help you
with. But sometimes, you know, certain bases or people get very
bureaucratic in their approach to some of these things.
Mr. Szabo. Yes, sir. Actually a couple of my employees are
still members of the Guard and Reserve so fortunately they
still have the ability to access the base with the ID in their
pocket. However, there are times where we do need to access the
base with some hiring managers that would like to attend and
make on-the-spot offers. And in that case we are forced to
obviously go through the visitors center, which takes a little
bit more coordination. But I believe for the most part it has
been a pretty easy process for us to actually access base.
Mr. Cook. Mr. Hawkins.
Mr. Hawkins. I cannot really add to that. We have had no
problems at all getting on base in any of the career fairs that
we have attended.
Mr. Cook. Do you share that same concern about the right
hand not knowing what is going on with the left hand?
Mr. Hawkins. I, you know, it can appear that way from time
to time. But not knowing what the exact circumstances are, you
know, it is hard to say.
Mr. Cook. Yes. After being in the military for 26 years
sometimes it was very, very frustrating. But I think that is
something we might be able to help in the future in terms of
encouraging that cooperative effort when we have one goal and
everything like that.
But I appreciate it. As I said, I just want to say your
industry seems to be very proactive in offering those jobs and
accomplishing that. And I wish more, you know, they talk a lot
and they don't do it. And I am kind of a bottom line person. So
thank you very much for being here. I yield back.
Mr. Flores. Thank you, Mr. Cook. We have been trying to
work to get the VA and the Department of Labor to work together
much more closely and, I don't know, hopefully we will all
still be alive when we get that accomplished. But anyway, I
want to echo one of the statements that Mr. Cook said, and that
is that your companies and organizations get it. And I think
the three panelist organizations that were here on the first
panel, that those organizations get it as well. And so we
appreciate your testimony today. We appreciate what you do for
America's hardworking veterans. And you are now excused.
I want to thank everybody that attended the panel today and
for the frank discussion on jobs in the energy sector. I now
ask unanimous consent that the statement from the Veterans
Green Jobs be submitted for the record. Hearing no objection,
so ordered.
[The statement of Veterans Green Jobs appears in the
Appendix]
Mr. Flores. Finally I ask unanimous consent that all
members have five legislative days to revise and extend their
remarks and to include any extraneous material in the record of
today's hearing. Hearing no objection, so ordered. And if there
is nothing further, this hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:22 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
APPENDIX
Battlefields to Oilfields, PEC/Premier Safety Management, by Mr. Wesley
Carr
I. What is B2O?
Battlefields to Oilfields (B2O) is an initiative by PEC/Premier
Safety Management that helps veterans get the skills and training
needed to obtain successful, rewarding careers in the oil and gas
industry. B2O is the brainchild of PEC founder, Charlie Carr.
Mr. Carr recognized that with over 50% of the oil and gas workforce
reaching retirement age within the next 10 years, the industry is on
the verge of a major labor crisis. At the same time, dismayed by the
inordinately high unemployment rate for our returning veterans, Mr.
Carr saw an opportunity to help our returning service men and women
while simultaneously addressing the imminent worker shortage in the oil
and gas industry.
Through the vehicle of B2O, PEC could get training for our veterans
in essential, industry-recognized courses and help place them in career
driven jobs through the network of employers we have cultivated over
the past 20 years of industry service.
By partnering with different schools and training entities around
the nation, B2O aims to reach its vision of helping any veteran,
regardless of location, find a job in the oil and gas industry. B2O is
working on procuring as many different funding sources as possible in
order to subsidize our veterans' training in as many different oil and
gas occupations as possible. While veterans' benefits are the most
readily available funds accessible to our applicants, not all are
eligible for them so other forms of funding must be procured in order
for all applicants to have equal opportunity to attend.
Our plan is to have multiple approved programs in our network
taught by different providers across the United States. These programs
will cater to the specific needs of the veterans that attend and to the
industry in their area of the country. This will allow us to pair
veterans with the training required for the career path they desire and
meet the needs of the employers in that geographic region and industry
sector.
Upon graduation from a given program, our team of placement
professionals evaluates and analyzes graduates and current job openings
to connect graduates with jobs that fit their unique skillset, location
and job preference. Some of our methods include B2O job fairs held on
or near the training location, on-line interview facilitation, and
email notifications to graduates and employers.
II. How does B2O Work?
B2O is a service that helps veterans obtain the training needed to
secure careers in the oil and gas industry. We are not a VA approved
program nor do we operate a VA approved program. Our model is to
partner with schools and training providers who already perform
industry-relevant training that meets the needs of one or more sector
of the oil and gas industry. VA approval is not a requirement for
partnership with B2O but it does often simplify the enrollment process
for applicants; students can pay the individual training providers with
any funds available to them. During the application process, applicants
are informed of the funding options available for the programs in our
network. If VA funding is not available for a given program, other
funding must be obtained. B2O is contracted to schools and training
providers to deliver administrative support in the form of recruitment,
enrollment, and placement. While our model focuses on helping veterans
find employment, anyone can apply to B2O and attend any program to
which they are accepted.
Our process helps the veteran step-by-step from application to
graduation. When we receive an application, the applicant is contacted
by one of our enrollment specialists to evaluate the applicant's
situation in order to help match them with the program that will best
fit their needs. Some factors we consider are:
Current employment status: Will the applicant be able
to take off work to train? If so, for how long?
Type of work desired: In what region and sector does
the applicant want to work?
Willingness to relocate: Is the applicant willing to
move to another region to find work?
Funding: Does the applicant have veteran's benefits?
If so, how much? If not, what other funding is available?
Any one of these factors can lead to more questions which will
ultimately give us the ability to recommend a training program that we
believe will suit the applicant and provide them with the best
opportunity to obtain the job they want.
III. What is the current status of B2O?
We are not a VA approved training provider and as such receive no
money from the VA. We instead partner with schools to provide
administrative support for their training programs we have determined
to be industry-relevant to one or more sectors of the oil and gas
industry. B2O has found much success in finding veterans that need work
and facilitating the training and placement of those veterans within
the Oil & Gas Industry.
The single most important aspect of Battlefields to Oilfields'
success is our placement. Without our high placement rate of 95%
(2013), B2O would not be able to fulfill its mission of servicing our
returning veterans. The high placement rate over the past year for our
primary program has largely been due to supplying the Oil and Gas
Industry with potential employees that have been trained in the areas
companies need most. B2O assesses the demands for training in the
industry and helps enroll applicants into programs that train in those
areas. This pairing is the key to successful placement of veterans in
long-term oil and gas careers.
We have found that the industry is in need of training in the
following areas: HAZWOPER, H2S, OSHA General Industry, First Aid,
Personal Safety and Social Responsibility, PEC Core Compliance,
Personal Survival with Helicopter Underwater Egression Training,
SafeGulf, Security Awareness, SafeLandUSA, Confined Space Rescuer,
Safety Environmental Management Systems, and Safety Tech.
B2O provides this service to South Central Louisiana Technical
College (SCLTC) to facilitate veteran training for their Marine
Operations Program for Safety and Skills Training. We are also
developing relationships with technical colleges, community colleges,
training providers, and nonprofit organizations in order to meet the
increasing demand by veterans for oilfield training and demand by
employers for trained and skilled workers.
Currently SCLTC's Marine Operations Program for Safety and Skills
Training is undergoing a VA audit. VA funding has been temporarily
suspended until the audit findings are fully resolved. The VA has found
five (5) items that must be addressed and SCLTC is working tirelessly
to a resolution. When all the items are addressed, the VA will allow
funding to continue.
IV. What does B2O hope to do?
Battlefields to Oilfields' goals are to enhance veteran
employability by providing them with the means to earn a fulfilling
career in the oil and gas industry. Through thorough research on our
industry and the relationships we have formed with major oil and gas
companies as well as their contractor workforce, we have been able to
determine the training and qualifications oilfield employers require of
their employees. We use this knowledge to determine what training
programs to include in our approved program network. Vetting training
programs based off of this data allows us to choose programs that
directly relate to specific oilfield jobs while giving employers the
assurance that the graduates of that program are ready for work.
The success of students that have completed B2O approved programs
has led to increased demand not only for training but for the graduates
of these programs. Employers want to hire them. The 2013 placement rate
for SCLTC's 28-day program is 95% and we have already placed over 80%
of students trained this year (2014). Most of the employers hiring
these students operate on or around the Gulf Coast, but several
students have been hired to work in the Bakken Shale play in North
Dakota and other areas around the United States. Anywhere that oil and
gas operations are being conducted, students with this kind of training
are in demand.
B2O wants to meet the needs of these employers wherever they are by
connecting them with a trained and qualified veteran workforce. To do
this we will expand our efforts to areas where these employers operate.
We will establish partnerships with schools and training providers who
have developed training programs that meet the needs of employers in
their region and are VA approved or have access to other forms of
funding. We will provide administrative support (enrollment, placement,
customer care, etc.) to these providers' operations across the country.
Additionally, we will form new relationships, or cultivate existing
relationships, with employers in the individual providers' areas of
operation; this will help facilitate hiring events and further increase
graduate placement.
VA funding is not an approval requirement for programs in our
network. We are constantly researching other forms of funding, public
and private, that will help veterans get the training they need to
obtain a career. Programs that are funded by the VA simplify the
process, but for those veterans who do not have or have exhausted their
veteran's benefits, we must find other no-cost and low-cost options. We
envision these possibilities taking the form of private scholarships,
student sponsorships, and as yet undiscovered sources. Wherever
possible, we want to be able to provide this service at no cost to the
student.
V. What are obstacles B2O faces?
Battlefields to Oilfields has training facilities to use, companies
eager to hire graduates, curriculum guidelines, and receives nearly 600
applications a month. What we lack is multiple VA approved training
providers. In order for this initiative to reach full effectiveness we
need multiple VA approved programs operating in our network. We need
this for several reasons: meeting the demand for training, meeting the
demand for a trained workforce, and ensuring that students have options
if VA approval for an individual program falls under review. The last
of these is an issue we are currently experiencing.
The primary approved program in our network (SCLTC's Marine
Operations Program for Safety and Skills Training) is currently under
review, during which time VA funding for the program is suspended. B2O
has paid out-of-pocket for one class already and plans to pay for
another if funding is not restored in time. We are doing this because
we do not want to abandon those that have already enrolled, and because
we believe that this training makes a tangible difference in the lives
of these veterans. We do not want to jeopardize that. Unfortunately
that model is not sustainable--we must find another VA approved program
to which we can send applicants very soon. This is especially important
if SCLTC's funding for their program is not restored.
By securing partnerships with multiple VA approved training
providers, B2O will be able to accommodate applicants by pointing them
towards trainers who are VA approved even if one of the programs in our
network falls under review . . . thereby better meeting the needs of
the veteran.
VI. What does B2O need?
The need for VA approved programs is very high. Veterans' benefits
are the main source of educational funding for most of our applicants.
While we know that there is other funding available, nothing can match
the scope of Veterans' benefits. Because of this, we need additional VA
approved programs available to include in our network. We also need
that approval to be predictable, consistent, and compliant with VA
standards.
Another possible avenue is obtaining approval for our own
coursework and curriculum that B2O could directly administer. This
would relieve us from having to solely rely on our partners' approval
status. While the majority of graduates will still presumably come from
our network partners, approval of our own program would allow us to
accommodate more students and more employers in more locations.
This would require an exemption to the VA regulation that requires
all VA approved entities to be operating as a school in that state for
at least two (2) years. Allowing B2O to receive direct VA funding for
training would allow us to reach and place hundreds more veterans than
we can currently. It would allow us to set up permanent training
facilities across the country and directly control the quality of
training students would receive. We would be able to establish roots in
local communities and form lasting relationships with employers in that
region. This kind of exemption is not without precedent.
Prepared Statement of Col. Randall E. Wooten, USAF (ret)
Background and History
Texas State Technical College (TSTC) was established in 1965 as the
James Connally Technical Institute (JCTI) of Texas A & M University to
meet the state's evolving workforce needs. JCTI was located in Central
Texas at the former James Connally Air Force Base in Waco. In 1967,
JCTI expanded to include a South Texas campus in Harlingen. Additional
locations soon followed.
JCTI separated from Texas A&M University in 1969 and became an
independent state system with its own nine-member Board of Regents and
the name Texas State Technical Institute (TSTI). In 1991, the Texas
Legislature elevated the status of TSTI's campuses by designating them
as technical colleges with the name Texas State Technical College.
Since the inception, TSTC has grown to include four colleges and
several off-site teaching locations. The four independent colleges
within the Texas State Technical College System are co-educational,
two-year institutions of higher education offering occupationally
oriented programs with supporting academic courses for certificates or
associate degrees. Emphasis is on advanced and emerging technical
programs not commonly offered by public junior colleges with a core
focus on placement and earnings outcomes. For 49 years, TSTC has been
producing top-quality graduates, who are nationally recognized for
their highly specialized, technical capabilities and job-ready skills.
TSTC's strong relationship with business and industry ensures that
coursework focuses on the regional and statewide needs of Texas'
employers and leads to success in the job market.
TSTC is Texas' only state-supported technical college system. Its
statutory mission is to provide an articulated and responsive technical
education system aimed at identifying and addressing industry needs.
These two features make TSTC unique among institutions of higher
education. The TSTC System currently has campuses in Waco, Harlingen,
Marshall and West Texas, with locations in Abilene, Breckenridge,
Brownwood and Sweetwater. The System also has off-site teaching
locations in Hutto, Ingleside, Red Oak and Richmond, in addition to
partnerships with many of the state's public junior colleges.
Accolades
TSTC's colleges consistently rank as top producers of associate
degrees in engineering, precision production, computer information
systems, computer & information sciences, and enrollment of Hispanic
students. In Community College Week's annual report titled ``Top 100
Associate Degree Producers,'' TSTC has ranked number one in Texas
numerous times in one or more categories and has consistently stayed
among the top 50 colleges in the nation in nearly every applicable
category.
In the 2012 report, TSTC Waco ranked number one in Texas for
graduating the most students in the categories of precision production,
engineering technologies/engineering-related fields, and computer &
information sciences & support services. In both 2012 and 2013, the
college ranked third in the nation for conferring engineering-related
associate degrees.
TSTC offers more than 151 Associate of Applied Science (AAS)
degrees and certificates and has produced more than 93,570 graduates in
its nearly 50-year history. TSTC Harlingen also offers seven Associate
of Science (AS) degrees in biology, computer science, engineering,
mathematics, physics, nursing preparatory and health professions.
Since 2009, the TSTC System has generated a 32 percent increase in
graduates and a 36 percent increase in job placements. The combined
first-year earnings of TSTC graduates are projected to surpass $56
million in new salaries for Texas--a 54 percent increase over the last
four years.
Demographics
TSTC students across the System are a diverse group
demographically. They are 65.7 percent minority (56.91 percent
Hispanic, 8.60 percent black, 0.19 percent other minorities) and 34.3
percent white. The student body is comprised of 39.83 percent females
and 60.17 percent males. Students come from 200 of Texas' 254 counties,
and nearly 63 percent are economically disadvantaged.
Veterans at TSTC
TSTC is proud to have many veterans of the armed services among its
graduates. Of those, many have earned a certificate or degree in an
instructional program that supports careers in the energy sector.
Sarah Kimble graduated from TSTC West Texas in 2014 with a degree
in Computer-Aided Drafting and Design Technology. Sarah previously
served in the United States Air Force and has a bachelor's degree in
criminal justice. Before graduating, Sarah was hired and given an above
average starting salary by Nicholas Consulting Group, a multi-
discipline engineering firm in Midland, Texas. Nicholas Consulting
provides process, mechanical, civil/structural, electrical and control
engineering services primarily to the oil and gas industry.
An eight-year military veteran, Christopher Bowdoin graduated from
TSTC Marshall in 2014 as a Process Operations Technician, training
which is attractive to a variety of process industries - including
chemical, food and beverage, oil exploration and production,
pharmaceuticals, power generation, pulp and paper, refining and
wastewater treatment. Christopher transferred to TSTC from another
college and, upon completion of his degree, was hired as a Field
Specialist for Chevron, a worldwide integrated energy company.
Veteran enrollment in the current academic year has surpassed 1,000
across all TSTC campuses (1,059 in total). Approximately 30 percent of
these students are enrolled in instructional programs that support
careers in the energy sector.
All TSTC campuses are designated as Military Friendly Schools,
which are those in the top 20 percent nationally that deliver the best
experience for military students. Additionally, all TSTC campuses are
participants in the Texas' College Credit for Heroes initiative. See
www.collegecreditforheroes.org. The initiative is a partnership between
the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Higher Education
Coordinating Board. It connects active duty, former and retired
military personnel with higher education institutions that maximize
their military experience toward college degrees and certificates.
The College Credit for Heroes program complements the efforts of
on-campus Veterans Affairs liaisons, who facilitate VA benefits like
the post 9-11 GI Bill and other financial aid programs. Additionally,
using grant funds, TSTC Waco developed an online tool for veterans,
called Credit Crosswalk, so they can determine if college credit can be
awarded for their military training. The Crosswalk compares military
occupations to TSTC's coursework and is used to determine if military
training is transferrable to TSTC. The Crosswalk is available online at
www.waco.tstc.edu/veterans/militaryoccupations.
Cooperative Efforts With Business & Industry
The strength of TSTC's instructional programs rests in the strong
relationships each campus has with business and industry. Each
instructional program is supported by an ``Advisory Council'' made up
of members within the industry served by the program. In each program
area, Council members direct the development, evaluation and on-going
modifications of curriculum and course content so that graduates
possess the knowledge and skills necessary to enter the workforce with
little or no additional training.
Often, TSTC campuses develop customized partnerships with
businesses to tailor curriculum specifically for the needs of that
company. For example, the global corporations Fluor and Bechtel helped
TSTC develop a customized curriculum in Welding Technology that
includes specific skill sets and an accelerated schedule. Luminant
Energy is currently working with TSTC to create a pipeline of skilled
workers to meet the company's demand. The company is involved in the
recruitment of potential students, selection of candidates in the
program, monitoring of the students' progression, and advising on
curriculum needs. Graduates leave TSTC with assured employment.
Instructional Programs and the Energy Sector
According to statistics from the Office of Gov. Rick Perry, the
energy sector contributes more than $172 billion to the Texas economy,
and that number is growing. Growth is fueled, in part, by the use of
new technologies, such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.
Nearly 900,000 Texans are employed in the energy sector today, but
Texas anticipates 26 percent growth in employment across the sector
from 2010 to 2020, according to statistics released by the Texas
Workforce Commission's Strategic Assessment Workforce Program. That
translated into 92,776 new energy jobs between 2011 and 2013.
TSTC offers numerous instructional programs which are in high
demand in Texas' booming oil, gas and wind industries. Although many of
these programs support multiple industry sectors, they are vital to the
energy sector. TSTC's degree and certificate programs that support
careers in the energy sector are listed below:
Air Conditioning/Heating/Ventilation Technology
Drafting & Design Technology / Architectural & Civil
Drafting
Building Construction Technology
Welding Technology
Computer Maintenance Technology
Computer Networking & Systems Technology
Instrumentation & Robotics Technology
Diesel Equipment Technology
Environmental Health & Safety Technology
Electrical Power & Controls Technology
Electrical Systems Technology
Industrial Systems Technology
Mechanical Engineering Technology
Plumbing & Pipefitting Technology
Civil Engineering/Surveying Technology
Chemical Technology
Mechatronics Technology
Wind Energy Technology
Process Operator Technology
Applied Engineering Technology
Oil & Gas--Downhole Tool Technician
Instructional Delivery Specializations
Many TSTC students in these programs are veterans, and the
technical skills they master at TSTC complement their military
training, resulting in a very high placement rate for these graduates.
TSTC has developed specialized programs that allow veterans to
accelerate their completion time by demonstrating the skills they
mastered during their service, thereby getting them to the workforce
more quickly.
One such program is a new competency-based educational initiative
designed to shorten the time necessary to earn an award. The new
competency-based education model, however, does not sacrifice the
quality of the skills learned. TSTC began offering this competency-
based approach in the fall of 2013 at two locations. The model aligns
particularly well with the needs of veterans, displaced workers and
career-focused high school graduates.
Competency-based programming is designed to allow a student to
demonstrate mastery of real-world job skills at his or her own pace. In
this way, a student will not spend unnecessary ``seat time'' in classes
reviewing information he or she already knows, either through past job
experience or through military service. As a result, a two-year welding
degree can now be completed in as few as four semesters--saving time
and money while minimizing a student's deferred wages. Competency
programming also ensures that the student learns and masters each
required skill, rather than simply earning an average score for a
semester-long course.
Conclusion
Without exception, the colleges within the TSTC System are
committed to serving U.S. military veterans. TSTC is also committed to
finding innovative educational pathways for the efficient and cost-
effective transition of veterans into the workplace. The competency-
based learning prototype is one such pathway. As part of Texas' Skilled
Workforce Initiative, the prototype is intended for statewide
implementation and is geared toward assisting veterans wanting to
maximize military training and earn a college credential. With the
competency-based learning model in place and access to the Credit
Crosswalk, veterans attending TSTC are able to make the most of their
military training as they successfully transition into the civilian
workforce.
Texas has long been a leader in the energy sector; however, recent
growth in that sector has been exponential. That means veterans will
continue to have access to a wide array of jobs. TSTC's partnerships
with industry through Advisory Councils, as well as collaborative
efforts with industry to design specialized curriculum, ensure that
students graduate with job-ready skills which match or exceed industry
standards. Business and industry groups across Texas well understand
TSTC's commitment to hands-on training and a highly skilled workforce.
Therefore, when industry wants qualified workers, it comes to TSTC.
Prepared Statement of Tyrone Everett, MSW
Good afternoon, thank you for inviting me today. My name is Tyrone
Everett, I am the East Coast, Mid and Southwest Regional Director of
Center for Employment Training, also known as CET. We are a 501(C)(3),
not-for-profit organization that has been providing skill training and
human development services to very poor and hard-to-serve individuals
since 1967. In our history CET has trained and placed over 135,000 men
and women including veterans in marketable, living wage jobs. The
primary purpose of our organization is to train people for full time
jobs and get them into the workforce. Our experience over 47 years is
that most people would prefer to be independent, and have control of
their own lives!
CET is training more and more job seekers in green energy sector
skills. Our decision making about what occupational courses to offer is
unique because it is largely governed by partnerships with private
industry and the market sector. Each CET training center has an
employer based-Technical Advisory Committee that provides guidance and
leadership in which skills are in demand in the local or regional area.
They advise us on what are the most current and cutting edge
applications and equipment used in a skill sector. This way we are
always able to remain flexible and move when new opportunities come up
to train in a growing occupational sector. All of our industry advisors
say the same thing:
The green energy sector is only going to get bigger and will soon
spread to more diverse markets.
Currently, about seven percent of our trainees are veterans, and
increasingly we are seeing more and more vets coming through our doors.
We are approved by the VA to serve veterans in all of our 15 centers in
five states and ready to train more of them. In some ways, veterans are
the easiest students to train because they have higher levels of
education than most individuals seeking vocational skill training, they
are also disciplined and motivated. But, they can also be the most
challenging to train, because frequently, veterans that have served in
combat, particularly recently discharged veterans, have needs that are
unique to their experience in the service to their country!
I'd like to tell you that providing quality training in new and
growing demand skills, such as green construction, or green heating and
cooling technology is enough to successfully transition veterans from
military service to the civilian workforce. Yet more is required to
equip veterans with the skills and tools to obtain and retain
meaningful employment. The other component that is necessary for
success is applied resources--specifically immediate intensive
supportive services that can address the pressure that readjustment to
civilian society can bring. CET takes this head on in our training
model and offers a full menu of supportive services that help to keep
our veterans in training and overcome roadblocks to achieving their
career goals.
Our approach in green technologies training for veterans uses a
hands-on ``contextual model'' that provides skill training in a
simulated workplace environment. Students clock in and out just like
they might at work and from the very beginning, they get their ``hands
on the machine'' and learn in large part by doing.
We `provide the most up to date, technologically current training.
Being on top of the newest technological trends helps to advance
veterans' career prospects in green technology occupations. Part of
that effort, and this is a KEY component, is that in addition to
offering relevant job training, we assist our veterans to earn
industry-specific credentials and certifications. In this way, when our
job development staffs start the process of helping our veterans to
obtain employment, the student is already ahead of the game because he
or she has industry-specific certifications that make them much more
employable. This is the new trend and a vital component of successfully
obtaining employment.
In closing, I want to get back to what I stated previously about
the importance of applied immediate supportive services to keep the
veteran in training. An intensive case management approach to remove
potential barriers to success is very important. The best training in
the world in the hottest occupation or industry sector is of no use to
a discouraged veteran that drops out of training because of a lack of
immediate support and resources.
To this end, we have one recommendation! That the VA help veterans
access the education and housing benefits that they are entitled to as
quickly and efficiently as possible. The first 90 days after a veteran
is discharged is a fragile period that demands that all of us respond
with the utmost urgency. In the military, especially when in combat,
immediacy is the order of the day. To do otherwise could be a disaster.
Discharged veterans feel the need for a similar immediacy as they
transition to civilian life. We are confident that if veterans can
access their benefits in a more timely manner, we can train then in the
new technologies in the green energy sector. We will offer them first
class training and intensive support services and then send them into
the private sector with industry-specific certifications, and they will
succeed and thrive!
We must all give them our best efforts and have the same sense of
commitment and dedication that they had when they served all of us and
our country. We owe them that much.
Thank you very much for taking my testimony and for your time
today.
Prepared Statement of Jay Hawkins
Chairman Flores and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the
opportunity today to discuss Chesapeake Energy Corporation's veterans'
hiring program, which has become a remarkable success story for our
company. I am Jay Hawkins, vice president of Human Resources for
Chesapeake Energy Corporation.
Chesapeake is based in Oklahoma City and is the nation's second-
largest producer of natural gas and the 11th largest producer of oil
and natural gas liquids. We are proud to have helped lead the way in
what has become known as the oil-and-gas shale revolution. This
domestic supply revolution has taken place across the U.S., creating
jobs, generating significant economic activity and changing our
nation's energy future. This includes reducing our dependence on
foreign oil and helping offer energy solutions for some of our allies
around the world.
I am here today because, as a part of our success in recent years,
our company is also a top employer of veterans, as well as members of
the Reserve and Guard. I am honored to say these employees represent
about 11% of our total employee base. This is especially significant as
this hiring has occurred during a recessionary period when many tens of
thousands of veterans were returning home seeking employment. Of note,
the average annual salary of these veterans at Chesapeake is $61,500.
Our efforts to recruit military servicemen and servicewomen began
in 2008. But what originally started as a small component of our
recruiting efforts quickly grew into an organic success.
Our targeted recruiting outreach has resulted in the current
employment of about 1,200 veterans or members of the Guard or Reserve
in positions ranging from rig hands to engineers. In fact, of the
nearly 3,000 employees hired by Chesapeake in 2013, about 200 were
members of the Guard or Reserve and about 230 were veterans.
Initially, Chesapeake recruited only junior military officers,
lieutenants and captains retiring from service for specialized
positions. But we quickly expanded efforts to include hiring former
enlisted personnel to work in the field, realizing these men and women
could be a natural fit. For instance, many maintenance and electronic
technicians were trained in the military, and we are able to naturally
transition their experience to the oil-and-gas industry.
Our specific recruitment efforts include participation in veterans
recruiting fairs--Chesapeake attended about 50 in 2013--and a veterans-
only e-mail address where military candidates can contact our
recruiters directly. In total, fifteen percent of our 2013 recruiting
budget was dedicated to recruiting veterans.
The result of the continued success of our program is that today we
plan to add military veterans in locations across the country,
including Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Pennsylvania and Louisiana in
positions like field engineers, Environmental Health & Safety (EH&S)
representatives, pumpers, equipment operators, business analysts and
rig hands.
Once hired, Chesapeake works hard to help our veteran employees
during their transition. In 2011, we created ``CHK Troop Connect'', an
online community where employees with military affiliation and their
families can connect and support each other as they transition to
civilian life and begin new careers. ``CHK Troop Connect'' offers
Guard/Reserve/veteran employees and employees with military family
members opportunities to connect with each other, plan activities and
share stories. This group hosts networking events, community-service
projects, welcome-home and farewell gatherings and other military-
focused activities. We understand this support and continued transition
assistance is vital.
Moreover, just this month, we were pleased to announce a new
Military Differential Pay Benefit for all full-time Chesapeake
employees who have completed at least one year of employment and are
called to active duty or military training for 30 or more days. Under
this benefit, our company will pay the difference between an eligible
employee's Chesapeake salary and his/her military pay as a lump sum
amount upon return to work.
While we know that veterans have an unmatched work ethic,
commitment to team work and leadership skills, we now directly benefit
from these skills and contributions on a daily basis. As our CEO said
to our employees on Veterans' Day 2013--when senior management and
supervisors also presented each service member with a commemorative
coin in individual ceremonies--``these individuals provide strength,
stability and commitment to our company, in addition to the diverse
skills and expertise that are essential to our success.''
Mr. Chairman, you have certainly seen the economic and job-creation
results first-hand in your home state of Texas; and as a number of
members of this subcommittee have seen in your own states, the timing
of the growth of our industry has made this particularly great news.
Unlike most industries, the oil-and-gas industry has experienced growth
during a recessionary period, and the outlook for jobs only looks
brighter in the future.
We are proud that Chesapeake has been honored by the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce as one of the top 25 American companies to hire veterans
and named a CivilianJobs.com's Most Valuable Employer for Military, as
well as a G.I. Jobs Top 100 Military Friendly Employer for five
consecutive years. We were also a finalist for the Post-9/11 Veteran
Employment and Internship Award and a member of First Lady Michelle
Obama's Joining Forces Initiative.
In summary, our veterans' hiring efforts have truly proven to be a
``win-win'' for our company and for the many men and women of our armed
forces who have now found exciting and rewarding new careers with
Chesapeake. We are proud that this program provides a solution for our
needs, as well as our returning veterans' employment needs--all while
continuing to advance what has become one of our nation's greatest
stories, the oil-and-gas shale revolution.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to be here with you
today. I look forward to answering any questions.
Prepared Statement of Mark Szabo
Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Takano, Members of the Subcommittee,
good afternoon. I am Mark Szabo, Team Lead for the Military Recruiting
Program at Baker Hughes Incorporated. As someone who spent 16 years in
service with the U.S. Army Reserve, I feel extraordinarily privileged
to have made a career out of attracting our veterans to the energy
sector. I thank you for the great honor of appearing before you today.
Baker Hughes is a leading supplier of oilfield services, products,
systems and technology to the worldwide oil, natural gas and geothermal
industries. While we work in nearly 80 countries, approximately half of
our more than 58,000 employees are based here in the United States,
where we conduct the majority of our manufacturing, field services, and
research and development.
It is here in the United States that advanced exploration and
production technologies have perhaps had their most dramatic effect in
increasing oil and natural gas supplies. This growth brings tremendous
job opportunities at a time when a large number of servicemen and women
are leaving the military.
My mission, and that of the entire Baker Hughes Military Recruiting
Team, is to bring the immense talents and work ethic of our men and
women in uniform to bear on energy production. This makes good business
sense to us, but, in the words of our CEO Martin Craighead, welcoming
our veterans home to meaningful, well-paid jobs is simply ``the right
thing to do.''
Baker Hughes has long sought veterans for our field work, where the
value of their experience is easily apparent. Mechanical assembly,
field operations, machining, repair and maintenance and logistical
coordination all fit within this category. However, we seek out veteran
applicants at all levels of the company, including in corporate and
enterprise positions, because we believe military service fosters core
values that align very well with the Baker Hughes core values of
integrity, teamwork, performance excellence, learning and courage.
Almost all of the members of my team are veterans themselves, and
we bring that experience to bear on our approach to recruiting. We have
developed a multi-pronged approach to ensure that we are reaching
veterans at every stage of the transition to the private sector. We
reach out to current servicemen and women at military installations
throughout the U.S., and to veterans by participating in military-
specific job fairs. We also partner with several universities with high
veteran populations, as well as state veteran workforce commissions. We
encourage veterans who are already members of the Baker Hughes
community to refer their former colleagues.
In 2013 we conducted a total of 60 military recruiting events, with
that face-to-face contact translating directly into 175 hires, with
many more hires coming through traffic driven to our recruiting
website. Our intention is to more than double that number in 2014. I am
pleased to report that so far we are on that pace: we held 23 military
recruiting events in the first quarter of 2014, hiring an additional
145 veterans. We are essentially hiring a veteran a day.
We believe it is important to continue that engagement beyond the
hiring process, to maintain it as a consistent thread in our employees'
experience. To that end, we have established a Veterans Resource Group
to support veterans transitioning to Baker Hughes from active duty and
connect them with each other and with mentors within the company,
creating a vibrant network for continuing professional and personal
development. This program has been enormously popular since its launch
in 2013--17 local chapters have already been established in Texas,
Louisiana, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania and many more are underway in
places like California, Colorado and North Dakota. It will come as no
surprise to the Subcommittee that these chapters, once formed, turn
their focus almost instantly to making a difference in the lives of
other veterans.
Baker Hughes also believes strongly in supporting those employees
who continue to serve our country in the military reserves. We have
policies in place to ensure our National Guard and Reserve employees
are aware of and receive their benefits, and as our employees are
called up Baker Hughes pays the difference between their base salary
with us and their military base pay, from 30 days annually for training
up to 180 day for an involuntary call to active duty. Baker Hughes was
recently recognized with an ESGR Pro Patria Award in New Mexico, and I
am proud to say that the company is a finalist for the 2014 Secretary
of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. Like our Veterans Resource
Group, this is a good program made great through the dedication and
spirit of our employees.
We applaud the Subcommittee for shining a light on the
opportunities available to veterans in the energy industry, and we are
pleased to do our part. I look forward to the discussion. Thank you.21
Prepared Statement of John Simon
Good afternoon, I am John Simon, Senior Vice President of Human
Resources for Pacific Gas & Electric Company. Chairman Flores, Ranking
Member Takano and the other esteemed members of the Subcommittee on
Economic Opportunity, thank you very much for allowing me to
participate in today's hearing and share my company's and our
industry's perspective of veteran hiring in the energy industry.
PG&E is one of the largest combined natural gas and electric
utilities in the United States. Headquartered in San Francisco, with
more than 20,000 employees, the company provides natural gas and
electric service to approximately 15 million people--or 1 in 20
Americans--throughout a 70,000-square-mile service area in northern and
central California. In line with PG&E's commitment to workforce
development and training, and in partnership with the Center for Energy
Workforce Development's (CEWD) Troops to Energy Jobs program, PG&E has
been a leader in providing job training to military veterans who want
to work in the utility industry. In 2013, PG&E hired 225 veterans, most
of whom we trained through our PowerPathwayTM program.
I am testifying today on behalf of CEWD, which was formed in March
2006. CEWD is a non-profit consortium of electric, natural gas and
nuclear utilities and their associations--the Edison Electric Institute
(EEI), American Gas Association, Nuclear Energy Institute and the
National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. CEWD was formed to
help utilities identify and develop effective solutions to address the
pending workforce shortages facing the utility industry. It is the
first partnership between utilities, their associations, contractors,
and unions to focus on the need to build a skilled workforce pipeline
that will meet future industry needs.
Response to Declining Utility Workforce
In 2013, CEWD projected that as many as 200,000 electric and
natural gas utility workers, an estimated 40 percent of all utility
employees, could leave their jobs in the next five years as they reach
retirement age or depart due to attrition. This means that, in the
near-term, the country will need thousands of engineers, technicians,
lineworkers, plant operators, and pipefitters for jobs in traditional
energy industries, as well as jobs associated with the advancement and
deployment of new technologies and innovations, including smart grid,
advanced end use energy efficiency, and electric vehicles.
At the same time our nation's utility companies are looking to fill
vacancies today and into the future, veterans are returning from active
duty and having trouble finding employment. Many are unable to identify
a clear pathway toward employment, despite having acquired very
desirable and needed skills during their military service. According to
the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, approximately 190,000 to
200,000 active-duty personnel will separate from the military annually
over the next quarter of a century.
The need for a quality, high-skilled energy workforce, coupled with
a pipeline of qualified veterans looking for employment, creates a
``win-win'' opportunity for our industry. Tapping into the pool of
ready and able veterans leaving military service will play a crucial
role in helping the utility industry build the workforce of tomorrow.
Troops to Energy Jobs
There is no better way to honor our nation's returning veterans
than to provide them with the support they need to successfully
transition to civilian life. Troops to Energy Jobs, an initiative by
CEWD in partnership with EEI and six pilot utility companies, including
PG&E, helps connect our veterans to rewarding careers in the energy
sector. The pilot program began in 2010 under the visionary leadership
of Dominion Chairman, President and CEO Thomas F. Farrell II, who was
then chairman of EEI. As one of the pilot companies of Troops to Energy
Jobs, PG&E is extremely proud of how the program has progressed and
helped to establish a needed and natural employment pipeline between
the military and the nation's energy sector.
The nation's electric and natural gas utilities have long been
leaders in hiring military veterans. In fact, 11 of the 100 companies
honored as top military friendly employers by GI Jobs Magazine are
utilities, including PG&E.
While the utility industry has an enviable track record in military
recruiting and has long been considered a military-friendly employer,
previous efforts had been scattered and uncoordinated. The goal of the
Troops for Energy Jobs pilot program was to develop an effective
national model for connecting veterans to rewarding energy careers in a
systematic, coordinated, best-practices manner available to all
utilities to use.
The return on investment is strong for companies since military
veterans have the training and skills that directly correlate to the
skills required for technical, engineering, and support positions in
energy companies. Veterans are adept in critical assessment, problem
solving, and thinking on their feet and outside of the box. They are a
natural fit for the energy industry in important areas such as safety,
leadership, and understanding the importance of following established
processes and procedures.
Energy companies need employees who are committed to serving
customers and their communities. With their strong sense of pride,
honor, duty, discipline, focus on safety, and leadership excellence,
veterans fit the industry's culture and add significant value to
companies' success. A strong workforce is critical to meeting our
nation's future energy needs and for supporting economic growth. For
example, over the next decade, the utility industry plans to invest
nearly $2 trillion to enhance the resiliency and reliability of the
nation's electric system, as well as integrate new clean energy
technologies and comply with new environmental and reliability
standards and regulations. This massive investment translates into the
need for thousands of highly skilled workers and provides an
opportunity for qualified candidates to secure long-term careers in the
utility industry.
In 2013, Troops to Energy Jobs moved from the pilot phase to the
point where a National Template was developed and launched. This
Template can be used by the entire industry for military outreach,
education, recruiting, and retention. The National Template offers
veterans a road map with step-by-step guidance on how to transfer their
military training to new energy careers.
Troops to Energy Jobs also includes a website,
www.troopstoenergyjobs.org, that provides detailed information and
resources to veterans who are considering a career with the electric
and natural gas utility industry. The website includes an online
roadmap, with step-by-step instruction on how to match their military
skills to energy jobs, as well as information on how to continue their
education to obtain required credentials or degrees. The real time job
site also includes daily updates of job openings for CEWD members and
access to a virtual career coach. Most recently, the website has been
updated to include a registration section where veterans can register
their job interest, military skills, and ultimate location once they
leave the military. That information is matched with utility employers
in each state to give veterans advance notice of jobs and
opportunities.
Once on the job, mentors with prior military experience and
industry tenure help veterans transition into the company and continues
to work with them throughout their careers. The National Template also
allows companies to tailor their own Troops to Energy Jobs initiative
to match individual company needs and goals and to ensure that veterans
do not hit roadblocks as the on-board into the company.
By recruiting and hiring veterans, energy companies create
opportunities for talented individuals who otherwise may not have
entered our industry. We are providing veterans a pathway, helping them
to reach their full potential in a rewarding energy career.
Troops to Energy Jobs has a promising future, as the program
continues to provide dedicated, well-trained, and highly disciplined
servicemen and servicewomen a pathway toward stable, well-paying jobs
in the private sector that closely fit their military skills.
PG&E PowerPathwayTM Program
With more than 40 percent of PG&E's workforce eligible for
retirement in the near future, our company created its veteran-hiring
program called PowerPathwayTM. This innovative program is
building a skilled workforce to deliver the high quality of service our
customers expect. By partnering with educational and workforce
investment systems, labor, and industry employers, PG&E is cultivating
and preparing veterans for high-demand positions at our company and
throughout the electric utility industry.
Over the course of the program's five years, more than 250 veterans
have graduated from PowerPathwayTM, with 100 graduates in
2013 alone. Since 2010, veterans have comprised seven percent of PG&E's
hires.
One such veteran who benefitted from the PowerPathwayTM program is
Erick Varela. Mr. Varela served as a non-commissioned Army officer in
Iraq, but when he returned home in 2008 he struggled to find a steady
job, which left him and his family homeless for about a year. Mr.
Varela's life took a turn for the better when he learned about PG&E's
PowerPathwayTM program.
Mr. Varela applied to the program, was accepted, and, upon
graduation, was hired as an apprentice electrician. In January, he had
the honor of introducing President Obama at a White House event on
long-term unemployment, where he also spoke about his experiences and
the industry's efforts to connect military veterans to rewarding energy
careers. Mr. Varela's journey is a testament to the results that can be
achieved as a result of the industry's workforce development and
veteran-hiring initiatives.
PowerPathwayTM creates programs and partnerships to train and
produce skilled and diverse workers needed by PG&E and the energy
industry. The program also enlarges the talent pool of qualified,
diverse candidates for skilled craft and utility industry jobs through
training partnership programs with educational, community-based, and
government organizations.
Recognized by the National Commission on Energy Policy as a best
practice program, by Clean Edge's Clean Tech Job Trends as an
organization to watch, and through a partnership with the White House
and Skills for America's Future Initiative, PG&E's
PowerPathwayTM program is a distinguished leader in
workforce development.
Additional Veteran Workforce Initiatives
Continuing its commitment to veterans, PG&E also established a
Veterans Employee Resource Group (ERG) in 2011. The ERG's goal is to
educate, support and develop PG&E employees with military experience.
In two years, more than 700 employees have joined the group, which is
open to all employees, regardless of veteran status. The use of
employee resource groups is an example of one of the best practices
documented in the Troops to Energy Jobs initiative.
PG&E also is proud of its involvement in the Nuclear Uniform
Curriculum Program, an industry initiative that established a
partnership with 38 community colleges to educate the next generation
of nuclear workers to a high and consistent standard.
In August 2012, the civilian nuclear energy industry and the U.S.
Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program signed the first formal agreement
between the two parties, which aims to bring personnel leaving the Navy
to work in the nuclear field. More than 30 companies have signed the
contract, which gives nuclear-trained naval employees the opportunity
to have their contact information provided to industry recruiters. With
this agreement, the Navy has the ability to recruit program graduates
to serve as nuclear-trained sailors.
Because of PG&E's efforts to recruit, train, and hire veterans, our
company has been designated as a 2014 Top-100 Military Friendly
Employer by Victory Media, publisher of G.I. Jobs Magazine. This is
the second consecutive year, and the third time overall, that the
utility has been recognized by the publication. PG&E was one of more
than 5,000 companies that competed for the honor.
Conclusion
Over the next several years, the electric and natural gas
industries will need to hire hundreds of thousands of workers. We
recognize there is a strong correlation between the skill sets the
power sector needs and those that veterans possess. PG&E and the
electric power industry are committed to training veterans for energy
industry careers through programs such as Troops to Energy Jobs,
PowerPathwayTM and other initiatives. We appreciate the
opportunity to testify about these programs to the Subcommittee.
Statement for the Record
Dr. William Doe, Chief Executive Officer, Veterans Green Jobs
Introduction
Chairman Bill Flores, Ranking Member Mark Takano and Distinguished
Members of the House Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity:
Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with a written
statement on behalf of my organization, Veterans Green Jobs, on the
important topic of ``Exploring Jobs for Veterans in the Energy
Sector''. I am a retired career Army officer and a graduate of West
Point and serve as the Chief Executive Officer of Veterans Green Jobs,
a 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation, located in Denver, Colorado. Over
the past decade, I have been actively involved with employment and
educational issues for our military veterans, particularly those in the
post-9/11 combat era, in higher education at Colorado State University
and in the non-profit sector.
Veterans Green Jobs Organization
Veterans Green Jobs was founded in 2008. Our mission is to engage,
transition, and connect military veterans with meaningful employment
opportunities that serve our communities and environment. We work to
inspire hope and confidence in our veterans for a positive future for
themselves, their families and their communities. Our vision is to
empower veterans to utilize their military service to become leaders in
a new mission that helps our nation achieve energy efficiency, energy
independence and security, natural resources conservation and the
resulting environmental, social and economic benefits. We have focused
our efforts on programs that offer veterans concrete skill building and
job placement in a variety of green careers. We view unemployment as a
risk multiplier for all other obstacles a veteran faces. The lack of a
stable career, which provides a veteran with a sense of purpose,
compounds problems with health care, personal relationships, and other
issues, and acts as a road block to successful reintegration into our
communities.
Veterans Green Jobs Programs in Residential Energy Efficiency
Our efforts over the past five years have been to assist
transitioning veterans with securing meaningful employment in the green
sectors of our economy, include residential energy efficiency and
renewable energy, the latter with an emphasis on the solar industry. We
have also been successful in placing hundreds of veterans into outdoor
conservation and wild land firefighting positions through partnerships
with regional and state-level Conservation Corps and federal land
management agencies. Within the energy sector, Veterans Green Jobs has
undertaken two major programmatic efforts: (1) Employing veterans to
perform residential energy efficiency services in weatherization for
local communities, and (2) providing networking and job placement
services for interested veterans with businesses and corporations in
the renewable energy industry.
For the past five years, through contracts with the Colorado Energy
Office, and under the Department of Energy's Weatherization Assistance
Program (WAP), we have served the citizens of two metropolitan counties
in Colorado with low-income, residential weatherization services. Our
own full-time workforce, which has varied in size from 100 to 40 full-
time employees over the past five years, has included a 30% veteran
component, including veterans from all eras. In our current workforce
of forty full-time employees, we employ six veterans in positions as
weatherization technicians, three veterans as furnace technicians, and
four veterans in management and support positions. Our veterans
represent all branches of the Armed Forces and numerous military
occupational specialties, both technical and combat arms. On-the-job
training is provided and certifications in building science and
performance must be achieved in the first year. Furnace technicians
require more specialized certifications and licensing.
One of our current veteran weatherization technicians, Matt
Rynders, a former Army combat veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom,
served as a Black Hawk helicopter door gunner, and was featured in a
cover story in the Denver Business Journal (When the tour of duty ends,
DBJ, November 8-13, 2013). Matt is typical of many of our veterans who
want a steady-job with a purpose. Matt has developed a greater
awareness about energy and energy use in recent years--and enjoys
spreading his enthusiasm. He remembers 95-degree summer days 15 years
ago and now considers 105 degrees the norm. ``I see the planet
changing. If we can get more people interested in doing things like
increasing our efficiencies and getting educated, we can change. It's
one more brick on the foundation of creating a green environment.''
Before coming to Veterans Green Jobs, Matt looked for ways to apply his
sensibilities about the environment in his line of work and study. He
considered working in the wind energy industry, and studied it for a
while, but decided to focus his time on working at Veterans Green Jobs
weatherizing homes, where he continues to learn and explore new ways of
becoming more energy efficient--not only for the benefit of clients,
but for himself as well. ``I never thought about why I should insulate
walls and attics, or how building science works--like how buildings
breathe and whether they are vented properly,'' he says, adding that
many homeowners likely don't think about these things, either, but now
they will.
The energy efficiency sector, both residential and commercial,
presents a variety of job and career opportunities for veterans,
combining their technical, communication and social skills. In addition
to entry level technical positions, more advanced jobs as building
energy raters and energy auditors are available. Generally, these jobs
will require veterans to achieve industry certifications through
community or for-profit colleges and other training institutions.
Growing Interest of Veterans in the Renewable Energy Sector
Our veterans, who have served our nation in both peace and war,
understand the importance of sustaining our economy, environment and
society through energy efficiency practices and the growth of clean and
renewable energy. Whether it be through education or training, we have
found that veterans are seeking opportunities that are more than just a
good-paying job, but that will allow them to continue to serve their
communities, use their technical, teamwork and cultural skills, and
make a difference in the future of the nation--addressing urgent
national and local issues such as energy security, environmental
stewardship and community development.
They highly value the natural resources and natural environment
that help define our way of life. They have seen first-hand, in
deployments abroad, how the degradation of environmental quality
impacts society. They also understand the operational advantages of
using alternative energy in combat theaters, and have witnessed the
significant investments being made by the Department of Defense to
develop renewables for energy use on military installations and in
other operational contexts. Thus, there is a strong connection between
their military experiences with energy use and the applications that
transfer to the job market and civilian sector.
Interest amongst veterans for employment in the renewable energy
sector is growing. This interest is evidenced in a recent report
(February 2014) entitled Veterans in Solar: Securing America's Future,
co-published by the Solar Foundation and Operation Free, a clean energy
campaign of the Truman National Security Project and Center for
National Policy, both located in Washington, D.C. The report, cited in
an article published on GreenBiz (http://www.greenbiz.com, 2014-04-08),
entitled ``Why are so many veterans serving in the solar industry,?''
reports the growing number of veterans being employed in the solar
industry. Veterans compose 9.2 percent of the 143,000-member workforce,
compared to 7.6 percent of the workforce nation-wide. Additionally, as
cited in both of these references, veterans are taking a leadership
role in the industry serving in key management, business and financial
positions as the industry grows. Non-profit organizations in solar,
such as GRID Alternatives and Solar Energy International, both with
offices in Colorado, have partnered with Veterans Green Jobs to promote
solar installation training opportunities for veterans. Finally, a
number of two-year technical schools have emerged to provide education
and training in the renewable energy sector, attracting significant
enrollments from student-veterans. For example, one of our educational
partners, Ecotech Institute in Denver, a for-profit institution
providing 2-year technical programs in renewable energy, has seen its
student-veteran population increase to 28% of enrolled students in only
three years, and anticipates further growth in its student-veteran
population.
Success in placing veterans in energy jobs requires partnerships
with a variety of organizations. At Veterans Green Jobs we have
partnered, in both the veterans and energy space, with numerous
government agencies, corporations, non-profit organizations, and
institutions of higher learning, to promote job opportunities for
veterans in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors. In
Colorado, for example, we have worked closely with the Colorado
Employer Support for Guard and Reserve (ESGR), a Department of Defense
organization, to both employ Guard and Reserve members, as well as
participate in their Military and Veterans Employment Expo, held
annually in Colorado Springs--a city with several large military
installations. These highly successful employment events, attended by
over 1,000 military and veteran members, provide both training for
veterans on how to transition and prepare themselves for the job
market, in concert with a traditional job fair with companies committed
to hiring veterans. All of our programs represent ``boots on the
ground'' for putting veterans back to work.
Actions Necessary to Encourage and Place Veterans in the Energy Sector
Despite the positive trends in jobs for veterans in the energy
efficiency/renewable energy sectors, there are several actions that
should be taken to further develop these opportunities and ensure
growth of jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries
for veterans:
1. Energy corporations must take the lead in formally stating their
commitment to hire veterans. Large corporations committed to energy
services and renewable energy, such as General Electric, Siemens and
Xcel Energy, have been strong advocates for veteran friendly hiring
commitments and practices. For example, Xcel Energy recently (May 14,
2014 in Denver, CO) held a major event with the ESGR to sign a
Statement of Support pledge in support of National Guard and Reservist
employees and to promote the hiring of Guard/Reserve members and
veterans. However, many other companies in these industries have lagged
behind in making commitments and investments in veterans, not only to
hire them, but to ensure a supportive institutional culture once they
are on board. Best practices from these leaders in the industry should
be identified and distributed widely.
2. Outreach to veterans from the energy industry is essential as
they transition from the military. Corporations and businesses in the
energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors must more fully engage
the non-profit sector and the higher education sector through
partnerships and philanthropic support to promote veterans outreach,
job and career counseling and placement opportunities for veterans in
these industries. In addition to government employment programs for
veterans, non-profits and educational institutions engage large numbers
of transitioning service members and can provide networking and career
guidance for individual veterans into these industries. Transitioning
veterans are often unaware of the growing opportunities in these
sectors.
3. Government contracting procedures for energy efficiency and
renewable energy services, at both the State and Federal levels, must
strongly consider the veterans workforce in making decisions about
contract awards in energy efficiency and renewable energy services
contracts. Large investments in renewable energy are being made by the
Department of Defense on military installations. For example, the
Army's Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF) has announced a $7B, 30-
year Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) to install and operate
large renewable/alternative energy projects on military installations.
One hundred renewable energy companies have been pre-qualified to
compete for these contracts. Energy companies with a demonstrated
commitment to a veterans' workforce should be given additional
consideration for these contract awards on military installations.
Similarly, other government contracts, such as those in residential
energy efficiency for low-income communities, should give preference to
organizations who have established successful veterans' hiring
programs.
In executing our programs over the past six years we have learned a
great deal about the employment challenges facing veterans. There are
numerous organizations and public offices in the space of veterans'
employment. In our experiences, the programs with the greatest
successes in employing veterans have incorporated the following
elements:
Full spectrum employment assistance with defined
linkages from training and education to direct job placement
A sense of service and organizational culture that
transforms their military service into other forms of national
and community service
A living wage or stipend for internships or training
that allows veterans to support themselves and their families
with some income while earning certifications and training to
prepare them for civilian employment
Well communicated employment/job resources that are
easy to locate and access
Personal guidance and mentorship that helps individual
veterans find training and careers based on their experience
and interests
Conclusion
Chairman Flores, Veterans Green Jobs is a nonprofit corporation
serving the employment needs and interests of veterans in the growing
energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors. We are fully aware of
the challenges facing our veterans as they exit military service and
return to our communities. Our Board of Directors and non-profit staff
are composed of professionals, both veteran and non-veteran, who
strongly believe the energy sector provides tremendous job
opportunities for our veterans. We believe that public-private-
nonprofit partnerships are essential to fulfilling these opportunities.
This concludes my written statement.
Statement of Disclosure
Veterans Green Jobs, a 501(c) 3 organization, received the
following contract awards through the Colorado Energy Office (CEO) in
FY12-13 and FY13-14. Funds were appropriated for this grant from the
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under the Weatherization Assistance
Program (WAP) for Low-Income Persons, CFR Part 440, and the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services Low Income Home Energy
Assistance Program. Veterans Green Jobs was a sub-grantee for this
program in Region 9 of Colorado, serving Denver and Jefferson Counties.
The following contracts were awarded: FY12-13: $2,389,559; FY13-14:
$3,344,221.
Curriculum Vitae
Dr. William (Bill) Doe is currently the Chief Executive Officer of
Veterans Green Jobs, a 501(c) 3 non-profit corporation, located in
Denver, Colorado. Dr. Doe is a career Army veteran having served on
active duty in the Army Corps of Engineers for 22 years and retiring as
a Lieutenant Colonel. He was commissioned from the U.S. Military
Academy at West Point and served on the faculty there as an Academy
Professor of Geography and Environment. He holds graduate degrees in
Civil Engineering from the University of New Hampshire (M.S.) and
Colorado State University (Ph.D.). Upon completion of his active duty
service, Dr. Doe was a senior environmental researcher, associate
professor and administrator at Colorado State University where he
directed environmental management contracts, services and applied
research on military installations in the U.S. and Germany. His areas
of expertise include military lands management, environmental and
watershed management, renewable energy and the study of warfare ecology
and military geography. He has authored numerous book chapters and
articles on these subjects, and teaches both resident and on-line
courses in sustainability for several institutions of higher learning.
He is active in veterans and student-veterans affairs in Colorado.