Industry Faces a Major Workforce Shortage in the Next Five Years
EMWD
PERRIS – Life comes fast. One day, you’re a new teen entering high school, and four express lane years later, you are a legal adult expected to make life-defining decisions. One learns quickly about the value of guidance and opportunity.
For Gracie Valencia, those came from a source that may not be at the top of one’s list, the water company. Specifically, the Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD), the sixth largest supplier in the state, and based in western Riverside County.
“I would not have had this life-changing opportunity if it wasn’t for the Youth Ecology Corps program and the skills and experience it provided me,” Valencia confided.
EMWD’s Youth Ecology Corps (YEC) provides young adults with short-term opportunities to work part-time at the water district. In partnership with the Riverside County Workforce Investment Board, EMWD has hosted the program for more than a decade, instructing hundreds of 18-to 24-year-olds.
Often, opportunity comes by fulfilling a need. According to the water district, across the nation, the water business is facing a major workforce shortage, with nearly half of current employees eligible to retire in the next five years.
Locally, EMWD is looking to address that anticipated need, in part, through the YEC program, which is, as described by EMWD Public Affairs Officer Kevin Pearson, “a (paid) level of work experience that can lead to opportunities.”
For Valencia, it all began with her search for an opportunity.
“She had looked into job opportunities in EMWD’s website and saw the YEC program listed,” Pearson revealed.
From there, the guidance, to the California Family Life Center, which conducted the interview and selected her for the program.
And according to Pearson, “once she did the interview, she was told her personality made her a great fit for Public Affairs and she fit in great.”
The sessions run for 12 weeks, but for those who excel, they can be extended up to a year. Valencia made a strong impression, Peason said. “She actually was a key contributor to many of our educational tours for area students while she was in our department. She also helped create some of the activities that are now being used in schools across our service area.”
Eric Morales took a more defined path to the YEC program after earning his degree in biochemistry at UC Riverside in 2017. “I knew I wanted to work in a lab that made a difference, and the YEC program allowed me to see what the lab scientists do at a major place like EMWD.”
After being accepted into the program, as did Valencia, he made a strong impression and was, according to Pearson, “retained as a temporary employee for a while until a position opened up and he went through the competitive process and earned it.”
He is now a senior scientist in the lab, helping EMWD perform more than 48,000 water quality tests every year, working to ensure safe drinking water.
“Programs like this work. EMWD has taken the initiative to take a chance on interns and allow them these kinds of opportunities,” Morales said.
The YEC program is only one of EMWD’s growing stable of initiatives to promote water industry careers EMWD offers college internships, apprenticeships, and an award-winning high school Career Technical Education program that promotes careers in the water and wastewater sectors.
“These programs provide opportunities for young adults they would not otherwise have,” EMWD Board President Stephen Corona said. “It is so rewarding when we can help them achieve their dreams.”
“I knew EMWD was an organization I wanted to be at, and that this could be my long-term home,” Gracie Valencia said. While participating in the YEC program from January to August, a full-time position as a customer service advisor opened up. She applied and was hired.
“The trajectory of my life is different because of this program and the commitment I made to it.”
For more information, visit: https://www.emwd.org/careers/job-classifications-and-wages/youth-ecology-corps
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