Why was EPCE formed?
In June 2000, the Council for Adult & Experiential Learning (CAEL) met with key representatives of the electric utilities industry to discuss how online education and training needs could help address impending workforce shortages in this rapidly changing industry. They identified the following issues:
- the industry will be losing a large portion of its workforce due to retirement
- newly hired employees were entering the industry without the necessary skills
- current employees needed re-training to keep up–to-date with changing technologies
- current employees desired a path to career advancement within their chosen field
What was the solution?
Though training and education were clearly needed, utility workers could not attend traditional classes due to their rotating work shifts and travel schedules. CAEL, with the support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, initiated an online learning format that enabled current and potential workers to access training and education from any location, at any time, independent of their work schedule constraints. This was the beginning of the EPCE initiative.
What is EPCE’s role today?
EPCE serves as a national resource for high quality online learning programs designed by and for the energy industry. The online options at EPCE provide the industry with another tool to address workforce challenges in today's marketplace. EPCE is a national business-education partnership that provides flexible, convenient online options to students and employees - anytime, anywhere.