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From introducing middle school students to energy careers to helping experienced workers earn new credentials and offering tailored training to upskill others, the Resilient Energy Technology and Infrastructure Consortium (RETI) led by West Virginia University is actively building a workforce network designed to meet the energy industry’s needs today — and anticipate the jobs it will need tomorrow.
After being awarded a $160 million investment from the U.S. National Science Foundation, the NSF RETI Engine is bringing together employers, educators and workforce organizations across West Virginia and western Pennsylvania to build stronger pathways into energy and energy-adjacent careers.
Erienne Olesh, WVU senior associate vice president of research and RETI CEO, said workforce is a critical pillar of RETI’s larger mission to strengthen the security and resilience of the nation’s energy systems and secure the future of the region’s economic landscape.
“Energy and grid security are tightly connected to jobs and, ultimately, economic prosperity,” Olesh said. “Typically, in a given region, a third of energy is used for industrial purposes. In our region’s footprint, it’s about half. Without a secure energy source, we risk companies leaving the area and losing jobs, investment, growth opportunities, and revenue.”
Liz Vitullo, RETI’s chief workforce officer and assistant vice president for economic innovation at WVU, said the university has long focused on supporting economic development and employer relationships throughout the region.
“WVU has intersected with employers offering technical expertise, workforce support, and innovative talent solutions for years,” Vitullo said. “There is immense opportunity to address workforce challenges and keep talent in the region. RETI will strengthen these ties by building a more cohesive network of energy employers through direct talent pipelines and relevant, industry-approved training programs.”
Focused on energy-related jobs needed now and in the years ahead, Vitullo said the NSF Engine has already begun to connect the dots and gather employers, workforce providers and intermediaries to listen and identify pain points, skills gaps, opportunities and solutions that meet current and evolving industry needs.
Building on the years of planning for an NSF Engine award, RETI’s workforce efforts have four main areas of focus over the next two years:
- Establish a strong workforce network in which partnerships can form, and initiatives can catalyze and complement each other while working toward a common goal.
- Grow in-demand programs for skilled labor in the energy and energy-adjacent sectors, including building microcredentials that are co-created with industry partners and that complement engineering and other technical degrees.
- Stand up new training programs for power, utility and infrastructure jobs to bring underutilized talent into family-sustaining careers.
- Build a robust talent pipeline that raises awareness of high-quality, good-paying energy and utility careers among students in K-12 and higher education, as well as workers on the job today.
Partners such as Form Energy, EQT, the West Virginia Public Education Collaborative (WVPEC), Chemours and WVU Parkersburg are among the first to join the RETI network thanks to ongoing workforce partnerships.
For Form Energy, that first goal — a ready talent pipeline — is the immediate draw. As a battery manufacturer in Weirton with over 500 employees and plans to employ at least 750 team members by 2028, Form Energy needs a strong talent pipeline prepared to enter the workforce and access to an energy industry network to succeed.
With the energy technology landscape changing so quickly, the RETI network will not only connect companies like Form Energy with resources and talent but will also inform how they can innovate or reach new customers.
Other partners are focused on the earliest end of the pipeline. Natural gas producer EQT Corp. has partnered with the WVPEC to educate middle school students about gas industry careers through a STEAM — science, technology, engineering, arts and math — curriculum that applies industry-approved, real-world scenarios.
Building on the success of the statewide West Virginia STEAM Technical Assistance Center, WVPEC Executive Director Donna Hoylman Peduto said the partnership aims to expand the program throughout the RETI region.
EQT, with plans to hire 1,000 more employees by the end of the year, is invested in fostering young talent and building up the workforce in the region.
Still other partners are focused on the workers already on the job. The Chemours Co. and WVU Parkersburg jointly developed flexible associate degree pathways that remove barriers for working adults.
Vitullo said that RETI aims to scale this model and other best practices across the region. One strategy focuses on creating microcredentials in partnership with industry.
“Delivering directly on RETI’s training and credentialing goals, WVU will lead the development of these with our partners to meet evolving workforce needs and fuel a sustainable pipeline of highly skilled technicians,” Vitullo added.
As the network takes shape, RETI’s leaders said these early partnerships are only the start.
The NSF RETI Engine is headquartered in Morgantown at WVU, with a branch office at the Energy Innovation Center in Pittsburgh. Partners include the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, the U.S. Research Impact Alliance and more than 60 other regional partners.
