INVESTING IN TOP TALENT

IGS Energy is not just fully committed to creating a sustainable energy future—it also wants to advance diversity, equity, belonging and inclusion with skills-based hiring along the way.

Enter IGS Energy’s renewable energy workforce development programs.

The company is nurturing partnerships with nonprofits to train people to become solar installers and connect them with jobs at IGS or elsewhere.

Work to align its business purpose and philanthropic investments manifested in the company’s Clean Energy for Everyone grant program, which launched in 2021. IGS pledged $1.2 million in funding for 10 nonprofits with projects helping create an equitable clean energy economy.

Grant applications called for three major outcomes: increasing the overall share of renewable energy, increasing access to energy education and creating job mobility through careers in the renewable or cleaner energy sector.

Two Columbus nonprofits, IMPACT Community Action and the Mid-Ohio Food Collective, were granted $175,000 each over two years.

The IMPACT CA EMPOWERED! Program trains students in weatherization, solar installation and EVs, leading to energy industry certificates and connections with employers and jobs. A third 12-week-long class for solar installers is planned for the spring of 2023.

The Mid-Ohio Food Collective’s new ReadySkill program has a mission to provide job training to under-resourced individuals. It kicks off its 18-week solar installation training in summer of 2023 for 25 students, who will be able to earn a certificate through the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners.

Both programs provide wraparound support for students to remove barriers that may otherwise prevent them from pursuing new

Pools

learning opportunities, offering help from rent stipends to childcare.

The pipeline of graduates can pursue job opportunities with Ecohouse Solar, a Central Ohio solar installer acquired by IGS.

Clean energy jobs paid 25% more than the national median wage in 2019, according to the American Council on Renewable Energy. However, the profile of the typical renewable energy worker does not reflect the community at large: Just 20% are women, and less than 10% are Black.

IGS leaders are leaning into the partnerships, offering to review resumes, do mock interviews and host students for internships or co-ops. They say they’re very willing to consider students without four-year college degrees.

IGS CEO Scott White has been vocal about his commitment to removing workforce barriers with skills-based hiring.

“We’re challenging, being disruptive and thinking about how are things done? And how could we do it differently?” he says. “We’re looking at our jobs and saying, are there some jobs that people could do that don’t need a college degree? Today, our application might say degree required. Why?”

A Promising Future

IGS Energy is a proud financial partner in Columbus Promise, a program that offers Columbus City Schools graduates six semesters of tuitionfree education at Columbus State Community College. Beyond its financial support, however, IGS is prepared to welcome a handful of Columbus Promise students for internships, co-ops or other engagements. The idea is to connect them with careers in the energy sector that they may never have considered but might find fulfilling.