Educating the Dam and Hydro Engineer of Tomorrow

If you have talked with government, owner or consulting human resources officials in the past few year, you are no doubt aware of the challenge in recruiting competent engineers in the various specialties. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a nationwide unemployment rate of 3.8% in June of this year. The unemployment rate for architects and engineers is even lower at 1.5%. This has created a major challenge for the hydro and dams sector with so many baby boomers hitting retirement age. To address this challenge, the Hydropower Foundation has sought ways to encourage more young people to consider a career in this sector. Initially the Foundation funded grants for master’s and PhD level students to pursue research topics in the hydro sector in partnership with the Department of Energy. Today our focus is on organizing events at major conference venues such as HydroVision and the Northwest Hydroelectric Association Annual Conference geared towards matching students with employers in this sector and to hold week-long workshops for engineering college students in partnership with utilities to solve real world problems.