America’s energy crisis could be worsened by  a looming education crisis.   The DOE, as well as AEL, have expressed concern in the past over a lack of education and work force training in energy related fields.  Today, Kristina Johnson, the Under Secretary for Energy, wrote on this subject as well as the DOE’s Energy Education and Workforce Development Request for Information (RFI),

“Reports like this one from the nonprofit Center for Energy Workforce Development are a cause for concern, as they warn that 40% – 60% of the current energy utility workforce could be eligible to retire by 2012. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory cautions that a shortage of training and skills is ‘a leading barrier to renewable energy and energy-efficiency growth.’”

The goal of the RFI is to gather data through September 3, 2010 to get a better sense of the “status, prevalence, quality, and gaps in education and workforce development relevant to energy technologies.”  The results will likely highlight what has become an astonishing truth, America is not preparing its students for one of the largest growth industries of the future.  This reality is well documented, just this year a report by the National Science Board pointed out that, “the United States has fallen from one of the top countries in terms of its ratio of natural science and engineering degrees to the college-age population to near the bottom of the 23 countries for which data are available.”

The emerging workforce and STEM education gaps, if not addressed, will jeopardize America’s ability to compete in a clean-energy economy. That is why earlier this year AEL strongly supported RE-ENERGYSE, a proposal to increase federal funding for education in clean-energy related fields by $74 million for universities, community and technical colleges, and K-12 schools.  It is also why 107 student body presidents signed a letter asking congress to pass the legislation.  Unfortunately RE-ENERGYSE was not passed and problem has not gone away, but is good to see the DOE continuing to lead the charge for an educated clean-energy workforce.

Last Thursday, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced that 150 students have been chosen to receive graduate fellowship awards for the Department of Energy Graduate Fellowship program.  The award includes tuition, living expenses, and research support for three years:

“The exceptionally talented students selected as graduate fellows are part of our nation’s next generation of scientific and technical leaders,” said Secretary Chu. “This investment in the training of scientists and engineers is part of the Administration’s continued effort to ensure that America has the scientific and engineering workforce we need to secure our energy future and our continued economic competitiveness.”

The goal of the fellowship program is to encourage students to pursue graduate degrees in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, engineering, and environmental and computer sciences—fields that will prepare students for careers that can make significant contributions in discovery-driven science and science for national needs in energy and the environment.

The goal of the program is to strengthen the nation’s scientific workforce, which is currently at serious risk, especially in the energy sector.  The National Science Board reports that science and engineering make up only about one-third of U.S. bachelor’s degrees, compared to 63 percent in Japan, 53 percent in China, and 51 percent in Singapore.  This step to address the problem was made possible by $12.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

An article in the Stanford Daily today described the “call to action” to Congress brought on by the letter signed by over 100 University Presidents in support of RE-ENERGYSE.

The piece quotes Americans for Energy Leadership Director Teryn Norris:

“’RE-ENERGYSE would be the first federal program to focus specifically on developing clean energy science and engineering programs in a comprehensive manner at the University level, community and technical college level, as well as K through 12 schools,’ Norris said.

‘Right now, the United States is in a global race to develop competitive clean industries. Countries like China are investing massive amounts to develop [and] dominate the clean energy industry and grow their market share. It’s critical for the United States to make sure that we’re at the leading front of this industry and that includes a serious federal investment and advanced energy workforce development.’”

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