business backgrounder | employment & workplace
electrical worker is equivalent to what the U.S. military puts
into a cadet at West Point or Annapolis,” said Guenther. “Training workers to be a part of this industry is a massive investment
that requires time and a good base of knowledge to build upon.”
consolidating into an “excellence” idea
With this problem in mind business, utilities, labor and the
Washington state community college system are working
together to train the future
generation of energy workers.
Started by Centralia College
Centers of Excellence
in 2003 as a program to train
www.coewa.com
workers for the nearby TransAlIBEW Local 77
ta coal-fired plant, the program
www.ibew77.com
has grown and morphed into
the Pacific Northwest Center of
Pacific Northwest Center of
Excellence for Clean Energy.
Excellence for Clean Energy
Working as a central hub for
www.cleanenergyexcellence.org
all the state’s energy electrical
Puget Sound Energy
training initiatives, the Center
www.pse.com
of Excellence for Clean Energy
coordinates the energy programs
additional information
• Washington State Centers of Excellence are flagship institutions
that build and sustain Washington’s competitive advantage through
statewide leadership.
• Each center focuses on a targeted industry that drives the state’s
economy and is built upon a reputation for fast, flexible, quality
education and training programs. A targeted industry is identified as
one that is strategic to the economic growth of a region or state.
• Centers are guided by industry representatives to lead collaborative
and coordinated statewide education and training efforts to build a
competitive workforce in a global economy.
washington state has 10 centers of excellence:
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Aerospace & Advanced Materials Manufacturing
Agriculture
Allied Health
Careers in Education
Construction
Clean Energy
Homeland Security
Information and Computing Technology
International Trade, Transportation and Logistics
Marine Manufacturing and Technology
Source: Washington State Centers of Excellence
46 association of washington business
at 20 of the state’s community colleges. Together, these programs have roughly 800 students enrolled at one time. The
center does not set curriculum for each school. Instead, the
center coordinates the efforts of all colleges to make sure they
meet industry needs and standards. Some schools even specialize in a specific area of the industry.
For example, Spokane Community College — in partnership
with Avista — operates an electrical line maintenance training
program. Edmonds Community College and Cascadia Community College jointly operate a