Industry Spotlight: Power Generation

It is well known that the power industry workforce, from technicians to engineers to linemen to maintenance crews, will be retiring in record-breaking numbers throughout the next ten years. Barry Pulskamp, a Vice President at Duke Energy Company, told the University of Cincinnati that over 30 percent of his workforce will be eligible to retire in the next five years and 50 percent will be eligible to retire within the next ten years. Deregulation of the power industry and cost-cutting measures in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as a generation of students encouraged to pursue ‘greener’ career paths, have all contributed to the unprecedented employment shortfall facing energy and power generation companies throughout the country.

“Each month we place veterans into power generation,” stated Larry Cummings, an Orion technical recruiting manager and partner, and 30-year retired US Navy Command Master Chief. “Candidates from the Navy Nuke program, gas turbine electricians, all varieties of electronic technicians, mechanics, hydraulic and pneumatic technicians have well documented skill sets that translate very readily into what our power companies are looking for.”



Nelson Ciprian is a Nuclear-Trained, Surface Warfare Qualified Electronics Technician who separated from the Navy in February 2009. He is now an Instrumentation and Controls Equipment Maintenance Tech, maintaining electronics and electrical equipment to support power plant operations. “In the Navy, I was a Nuke ET, responsible for the Instrumentation and Control equipment to support reactor and propulsion plant operation, “ says Ciprian of the correlation between his military and civilian careers, “The only thing that has changed is the heat source, and the fact that I work with newer technology. But the fundamentals are the same.”


Former Military are uniquely suited for in Power Generation in the following roles:

Operations
o Control Room Supervisors
o Senior Reactor Operators
o Auxiliary Operators
o System Operators

Engineering
o Nuclear Engineers
o Chemical Engineers
o Electrical Engineers
o Mechanical Engineers
o BOP and Reactor Engineers

Support
o Supply Chain/Logistics
o Fleet Management
o Chemistry Lab Technicians
o Environmental Health & Safety Managers
o Human Resources
o Training Managers & Instructors
o Finance
o Information Technology

Maintenance
o Turbine Maintenance Technicians
o Industrial Electricians & Mechanics
o Instrument & Controls Technicians
o UPS System Technicians
o Boiler Overhaul & Repair


Both veterans and employers are realizing the seamless transferability of skills and proficiencies between the Military and Power Generation, and veterans just may be the answer to the employment shortfall facing this industry.

Give Back to Veterans this Holiday Season

With the holiday season comes the opportunity for corporate philanthropy, and what better charities to consider than those that benefit America’s veterans?

Below is a list of well-regarded Foundations and Charities for Veterans and their families.

Fisher House Foundation
http://www.fisherhouse.org/

The Fisher House ™ is a private-public partnership that donates ‘comfort homes’ on the grounds of major military and VA medical centers. These homes allow family members to be close to a loved one during the stressful time of hospitalization and rehabilitation for an injury. The Fisher House ™ program originated in 1991 and has served more than 10,000 families and nearly 2.5 million days of lodging altogether. There is no charge for a family to stay at a Fisher House, and there is at least one Fisher House ™ at every major military medical center.


Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society
http://www.nmcrs.org/

The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society provides financial and educational assistance to members of the Navy and Marine Corps, their families, and survivors. NMCRS provides financial assistance to eligible recipients in the form of interest-free loans and grants for emergency needs and needs-based scholarships.


Special Operations Warrior Foundation
http://www.specialops.org/

The Special Operations Warrior Foundation provides full scholarship grants and educational and family counseling to the surviving children of special operations personnel who die in operational or training missions and immediate financial assistance to severely wounded special operations personnel and their families.


National Military Family Association
http://www.militaryfamily.org/

The National Military Family Association is an organization that supports military families and speaks up on behalf of military families and empowers husbands, wives, and children to understand and access their benefits. They meet the needs of service members and their families through recommendations, programs, and grassroots efforts to better the quality of life for military families.


Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust
http://cst.dav.org/

The DAV Charitable Service Trust supports physical and psychological rehabilitation programs, meets the special needs of veterans with specific disabilities, and aids and shelters homeless veterans. Programs include helping to maintain a volunteer-operated transportation network providing rides to sick and disabled veterans needing transportation to and from VA medical centers for treatment; providing food and shelter and connecting homeless and needy veterans to essential medical care, VA benefits counseling and job training; meeting the special needs of veterans faced with specific disabilities such as blindness and amputation; supporting significant therapeutic initiatives; supporting physical and psychological rehabilitation projects aimed at some of America’s most profoundly disabled veterans; and bringing hope to the forgotten and suffering families of disabled veterans.


Wounded Warriors Project
http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

The Wounded Warrior Project raises awareness and enlists the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women, helps severely injured service members assist each other, and provides unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of severely injured service members.


These charities are a perfect match for corporations looking to give back to those who have proudly served our nation. Happy holidays!

Myths that Undermine Decision-Making

When executive teams find themselves less than satisfied with their decision making process, many turn to the psychological remedy of exercises in teamwork, trust and communication. But sometimes the solution lies not in the psyche, but in dispelling the widespread myths about the teams themselves. CEOs and their teams should take a hard look at these misconceptions. By doing so, an often flawed decision making process can be improved.


Myth 1: A Single Team Makes All of the Big Decisions


Most organizations have a top executive team that consists of the CEO and direct reports. The rest of the company expects that all the big decisions are made by that group. In fact, decisions made at the highest levels might involve the CEO, CFO, head of business development or the president of an operating unit. The nature of the decision often determines which people are involved. A different set of minds may be used for each decision.


But if who is making the actual decision is not completely clear to everyone, confusion on authority can result. For example, Executive Team members who are repeatedly presented with completed deals they had no input on may feel disempowered, leading to trust issues and dysfunction in the office.


Myth 2: The Executive Team is a Body of Equals


Because executives are peers, members on the team might believe they have the same decision rights as operating executives, much like the U.S. Senate, where for example, Rhode Island carries the same weight as California. In actuality, some executives’ functions carry more weight than others. Compare this to the House of Representatives where California has more votes than Rhode Island.


Problems arise when the team isn’t clear how the decision making process is going to work. Are they being asked to decide? Are they being asked to advise? Are they being informed about a decision that has already been made? Is it "majority rule"? Are the more powerful members brokering a decision? You’d be surprised how often there is confusion among top team members as to what kind of input they are being asked for.


The solution is to not decide on one decision making model, but for the CEO to let everyone know exactly where the group is in the decision making process and what is expected from the discussion before the meeting takes place.


Myth 3: Team Members Should Always Adopt a CEO Perspective


Many times during a meeting, a CEO expects team members to leave behind their function hats and adopt a companywide perspective. But asking everyone to always think like a CEO can be counterproductive. The head of Human Resources for example, may not have much input for a new plant proposal but will have great ideas for hiring or labor relations.


The answer is to not choose the generalist perspective, but to recognize which model is useful for different types of decisions.


By recognizing all three myths and addressing them, CEOs can build a decision making process that can unleash the full power of their team.


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