Mission: Facilitate a cohesive advanced energy workforce pipeline.
Vision: A collaborative, local, and equitable workforce model that empowers communities to support the advanced energy economy.
Description: A robust workforce development pipeline for the advanced energy industry. Advanced Energy offers meaningful, well-paid career options for any Arkansan in a fast-growing industry. SkillStream creates clear career pathways in communities across Arkansas by preparing job seekers for these jobs, equipping organizations to provide relevant training and support services, and connecting employers with a diverse, skilled workforce.
Central Arkansas
Overview
Advanced Energy is a new, burgeoning industry in Arkansas, creating a lot of workforce development grey area not under the responsibility of others. This is especially true since it includes both new sectors and those that overlap and connect with a variety of others. However, specific focus is needed to coordinate an effective and contiguous career pipeline. A network of licensure, education, funding, and other partners must be woven together to help all collaborative stakeholders access available resources. AAEF is proud to provide industry workforce focalization through our SkillStream program.
The goal of the SkillStream: Advanced Energy Workforce Project is to accelerate the growth of the emerging advanced energy industry by developing a career pipeline model that can be applied to any Arkansas community. The intent is to balance economic development, equity, and environmental benefit in communities ripe for this work.
The SkillStream program, created by the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation, aims to engage diverse participants from all communities like K–12 and university students, re-skilling, veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals. By providing industry exposure, hands-on training, mentorship, support services, and career development opportunities, we seek to prepare participants for careers in renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, advanced manufacturing, and electric vehicles.
Now launched in two locations:
Fort Smith
The Process
The progressive nature of this model is such that it develops an industry workforce river for candidates to flow contiguously from one phase to the next producing a steady stream of diverse, skilled candidates for local employers. Funding will be used to develop a pipeline that includes the following phases:
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Identification and visual mapping of employers, community partners, training institutions, workforce boards, funding, and other relevant local contacts.
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These events will gather industry employers to survey their hiring, retention, and training needs, while also showcasing work-based learning solutions, training funding, and previous employer successes. Employers that decide to participate further must prove they are offering quality jobs.
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Engagement of local community organizations that are directly connected to diverse and underserved populations. Their role is to source potential youth and adult program candidates, connect talent to support services, and provide career coaching and accountability.
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Industry expo events will be held that expose potential talent to careers in the industry so that they can gain the spark needed to pursue the appropriate path. Events may include hands-on activities at booths hosted by local employers, engaging industry speakers, live career coaching, project tours, and job shadowing.
Check SkillStream events for upcoming expos.
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Short 4-10 week trainings will be provided by local educational institutions to small cohorts of both youth and adult talent to gauge affinity and provide early experience and credentials/certificates. Stipends and support services are provided to ensure equitable access. Employers that are most involved in the trainings through speaking, tours, equipment, etc. have first choice of hiring graduates.
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Employers that hire from these cohorts agree to provide full-time, quality jobs and continue their new staff training through established work-based learning programs like apprenticeship or internships.
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Continued support in the form of career counseling, mentorship, professional development, entrepreneurship resources, and worker voice will be provided.
The Success
