Bridging the Skills Gap: ASPIRE’s Workforce Training for the Electrification Boom

With demand for electrification surging, ASPIRE is leading efforts to create pathways and train the next generation of workers needed to build and maintain cutting-edge transportation and energy systems.

“Electrification is exciting and that it is something to be curious about,” said Fawn Groves, the education and community engagement specialist at ASPIRE. “We don’t have all the answers, but answers exist, and we have the capacity to figure them out together.”

And the issue has never been more timely, with Gov. Spencer Cox setting a goal to double Utah’s energy production in the next decade. Along with building a workforce in some high-demand electrification-related careers, ASPIRE’s work will be crucial to achieving this goal.

Addressing ‘A Wave of Need’

Both employers and statistical predictions “indicate a huge gap in the current number of qualified workers and the number of workers that will be needed as electrified transportation becomes more common,” said Polly Parkinson, a doctoral research assistant at ASPIRE.

To address this “wave of need,” as Groves puts it, there is an increasingly high demand for workers in construction, transportation, and power- and utility-related fields, plus other sectors.

“We need multiple ranges of expertise, from, yes, STEM, but also policy, business, education and so on,” Groves added. “And then we need people to, you know, literally put these technologies in the road, to maintain them. The demand runs the full gamut of training, from certification all the way up to postdoctoral research.”

Another significant gap that is being recognized is the disconnect between different electrification-related training and workforce groups. And that’s where Groves comes in. Through her work at ASPIRE, she has the opportunity to build connections across the state, and introduce entities to one another in order to collaborate and work together to bridge this gap.

“There are such smart, talented people working in all those spaces,” Groves said. “And getting all the people in the room is when cool synergies happen. In these conversations, there are then light bulbs and it’s exciting, all the ideas that can come out of a one-hour meeting.”

Employment Opportunities For Everyone

Due to the wide range of careers necessary for the state’s electrification, there is a job for everyone. Parkinson said some careers are positioned behind a desk, while others offer a more hands-on workplace environment. While some individuals may prefer the “traditional” college approach, there are also careers available through other hands-on training and certificate programs.

According to Angela Minichiello — a mechanical engineer and associate professor in engineering education at Utah State University who serves as co-director of the Electrification Workforce Development (EWD) team at ASPIRE — a transdisciplinary approach will be crucial.

As a U.S. Army veteran, Minichiello has seen the overlap between necessary worker skills, knowledge, and attributes with the increasing flexibility of electrification training and education programs. Bridging these gaps can provide pivotal employment opportunities for individuals interested in changing career paths, or who are transitioning from a form of local, state, or national service.

“Transitioning from military service into a personally meaningful and professionally rewarding civilian career can be a difficult endeavor,” Minichiello said. “Emerging occupations in electrification are creating an entirely new workforce ecosystem that will undoubtably improve workforce mobility for those desiring to upskill or change career paths altogether.”

As part of her work with ASPIRE’s EWD, she continues to support veterans and other individuals undergoing employment and career transitions.

Expanding Rural Opportunities

With its urban corridor down the Wasatch Front and its widespread rural communities across its varied climates and elevations, Utah is the ideal place to lead with innovative solutions on the electrification initiative. Because of this, Utahns benefit directly from these electrification efforts and the subsequent increased demand for a trained workforce. ASPIRE works closely with stakeholders and the community in order to develop a plan to benefit Utahns across the state.  

“People don’t just travel along the highly-populated Wasatch Front,” Parkinson added. “We have people and goods being transported across the state, and between states and nations. Utah has a particularly high number of rural areas, so transportation infrastructure needs will vary across populations. Rural areas need information and support with job transitions so people are aware of jobs they may not have previously considered.” 

ASPIRE is dedicated to working with these rural communities to build awareness of job opportunities in these areas, while also creating informed infrastructure that is tailored to the needs and desires of each community. 

“There is a larger system — which we call a system of systems — that must advance along with the technology to turn that technology into reality, and to ensure that reality promotes social good,” said Minichiello. 

For example, an electrified system benefits other aspects beyond transportation. As mentioned by Groves, innovative solutions to use robotics in agriculture are being developed and can enhance “the ability to produce in agriculture, and to monitor and maintain the ecosystem that rural communities have.” This is one of many ways that an electrified system can benefit both rural and urban communities. An electrified system offers benefits and innovative solutions in a variety of settings, thus offering applicable benefits to all Utahns. 

In order to benefit communities across the state, ASPIRE is dedicated to listening to the community. Groves prioritizes her first role as a listener who discovers where the needs of communities are in order to introduce infrastructure and technology to benefit the community. From there, ASPIRE builds connections with education, training, and outreach partners in order to collaboratively build a system of pathways to careers in electrification. 

“Our solutions at ASPIRE are for everyone,” Groves said. “The hope is that we can — all together — find our way to broad solutions that benefit everyone. That is our one and only goal, and we recognize that in that effort, it’s not a straight line, it’s a path of connecting dots.”  

More information on ASPIRE’s efforts in leading Utah’s Electrification Initiative can be found at utahelectrification.com. 

Contacts: 

Fawn Groves, M.Ed. 

Education & Community Engagement Specialist, 
Utah State University 

Polly Parkinson, M.A.

Doctoral Research Assistant, 
Utah State University

Angela Minichiello, Ph.D., P.E. 

Electrification Workforce Development Co-Director, 
ASPIRE 
Associate Professor — Engineering Education, 
Utah State University

Writer: 

Kayleigh Kearsley, 
Marketing & Communications Intern, 
ASPIRE