The December 2020 edition of RWFI E-Note Monthly, a newsletter published by the NETL Regional Workforce Initiative Team, highlights information about the nation’s energy challenges and opportunities to develop the diverse talent needed to meet them.

Programs featured in the newsletter cover a broad spectrum of the energy sector and include opportunities to submit proposals to develop and sustain a highly skilled, diverse workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

These proposals include requests from federal agencies seeking to establish programs that support research, education/teaching and extension projects that increase participation by women and underrepresented minorities in STEM-related careers. Some of the opportunities outlined in this edition are:

• The University Coal Research Program and Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Other Minority Institutions Program, which was established to enable segments of the college population not typically tapped for educational research to advance their technical skills.
• A request for proposals to expand job-training and workforce pathways for youth and disconnected youth through soft skill development, career exploration, job readiness and certification, summer jobs, year-round job opportunities and apprenticeships.
• Opportunities to support programs that enhance the quality of education and to increase the recruitment, retention and graduation rates among students pursuing STEM-related associate and bachelor’s degrees from underrepresented communities.

Act quickly! Applications for many of the programs highlighted in this edition of RWFI E-Note Monthly are due in January and early February.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory develops and commercializes advanced technologies that provide reliable and affordable solutions to America’s energy challenges. NETL’s work supports DOE’s mission to advance the national, economic and energy security of the United States.