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Plans for a New Training Center
Over the past few years, much work and many discussions have taken place with members of the Minnesota State Energy Center of Excellence, Xcel Energy, and staff from the Minnesota Legacy I3 Program regarding energy pipelines and training. These groups have worked together to begin to build pipelines for Xcel Energy over the past five years.
The group is considering taking this work to the next level by examining the possibilities of building an energy training academy using Xcel’s training facility in Hugo, MN, and other corporate-owned facilities in the Twin Cities Metro area. There is strong interest in offering a training model that will incorporate certificate level programming as well as for-credit offerings, all in an industry training model that will likely bridge the traditional academic calendar.
Another important consideration of building this model is centered around the current industry employment levels of minorities and the corporate desire to reach into the local communities to recruit and train future employees. The two initial focus areas are:
- gas substation technology;
- and the distribution side of energy which includes power line and substation work.
All student population groups will be targeted with a special focus on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access.
For more information contact: