PROGRAM OVERVIEW

POWER Up is an intensive pre-apprenticeship program through Prime Power that combines classroom, hands-on and online training, and mentoring for underserved job seekers to learn the basics of emergency power systems and maintenance operations.

PROGRAM IMPACT

While the students earn Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and OSHA 10 certifications and are taught the basics of emergency power systems, the overarching goal is to help them learn to think critically and relate that knowledge to all areas of life, says Alice Adams, Director of Training and Advancement with Prime Power.

On the final day of the POWER Up program, 9 employers met with the graduates; all 8 students were offered employment.

INNOVATION

• The program’s overall purpose is to increase economic mobility and reduce racial inequity through skilled trades. For Prime Power, a female-owned business, the purpose is a natural extension of the agency’s goal to increase the number of traditionally underrepresented populations in the skilled trade industry.

PARTNERS

• WorkSource Cobb
• CareerRise

LESSONS LEARNED

For the initial 2021 cohort of apprentices, the program was originally planned to span six months but was shortened to three due to COVID-19 considerations. Adams said
the condensed time frame made it challenging to cover all of the material, and the decision has been made for the PowerUp 2.0 (2022) program to return to the original six-month period.

Feedback from the hiring managers on the final day indicated more HVAC training should be offered. As a result, this feedback is incorporated into the
PowerUP 2.0 curriculum.

“We now have partners working toward the common goal of teaching skills that transfer to any occupation… assuring apprentices that anyone willing to work hard can broaden their scope of potential employers”
– ALICE ADAMS, Director of HR & Training 

When Workforce Works is an opportunity to tell and highlight successful workforce programs, projects, and initiatives from the MAIP Partner network. These aren’t just any stories about workforce programs, but stories of programs that really get it right – putting industry first, engaging career seekers, and developing deep partnerships – the workforce “secret sauce”. 

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