UI Trade Interns Graduate from Front-Line Workforce Development Internship

Following 10-week intensive internship program, eight students from local technical high schools now equipped to join utilities’ front-line union workforces following high school graduation


Photos Linked HERE


TRUMBULL, Conn. — August 28, 2024 — Today, United Illuminating (UI), a subsidiary of Avangrid (NYSE: AGR), announced that all eight front-line workforce interns have graduated from the company’s Trade Internship Program. Several state and municipal officials attended the ceremony and skill demonstrations, including Executive Director of the Connecticut Technical Education and Career System Dr. Ellen Solek, State Representatives Toni E. Walker (D-New Haven) and Kathy Kennedy (R-Orange), President of the Connecticut AFL-CIO Ed Hawthorne, and two staff members with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA).

“I am very proud to congratulate the graduates of UI’s Trade Internship Program, who have all shown themselves throughout the summer to be enthusiastic, hardworking, and dedicated contributors to our essential electricity industry,” said Frank Reynolds, President & CEO of UI. “As utilities face new challenges that drive both innovation and expansion, recruiting new team members to our front-line workforce is increasingly imperative, and the energy and enthusiasm in this year’s class of interns gives me confidence that our future is bright. I am deeply grateful for the hard work of all of the people who made these internship programs so successful, including our Avangrid Human Resources partners, our engineers and supervisors at UI, and our hands-on trainers and supervisors with UWUA. You all are the reason we are celebrating today.”

Designed and implemented by Avangrid’s Human Resources department, leaders at UI, and leadership in the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 470-1, the Trade Internship Program is a 10-week innovative workforce development internship designed to provide rising seniors from local technical high schools with hands-on experience on the front-lines of the electric utility businesses. At today’s graduation ceremony, eight UI Trade Internship graduates demonstrated many of the skills they learned throughout the course of the 10-week program, such as pole-climbing, utilizing the bucket truck, and three-phase construction of the electric system.

“The spirit of equity, innovation, and opportunity is the heart of all our Avangrid internship programs, and the Trade Internship Program is perhaps one of the clearest examples of how these values shape everything we do,” said Liberna Charles, Vice President of Talent Management and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) at Avangrid. “Today’s graduation ceremony showcases the promise of partnership between Avangrid, our operating companies, and union leadership, and the 2024 Trade Internship Program graduates will reap the benefits of that investment for years to come. I am proud of the many members of the team who helped make today a reality, and I look forward to future programs that help further our mission to be a leader in innovative and workforce development.”

This year’s UI/UWUA Local 470-1 program was the second iteration of the internship following a successful inaugural year in 2023, in which Avangrid, UI, and UWUA Local 470-1 broke ground by hosting one of the first hands-on, front-line workforce internship programs for utility workers in the country. This summer, interns with the program received hands-on experience in fundamental skills in the lineworking industry, including pole-climbing, operating a bucket truck, logistics and storm preparation, and the safe operation of all equipment needed for the job. Six of the eight interns who successfully completed the UI internship program today are expected to graduate in 2025 from Bullard Havens Technical School (Bridgeport), Eli Whitney Technical School (Hamden), and Emmett O’Brien Technical School (Ansonia), while two of the interns graduated from Platt Technical School (Milford) in June 2024.

“This summer, the eight Trade Interns we welcomed to UI made a significant impact in helping us prepare for and respond to daily blue-sky challenges as well as major storm events, like the tornado that hit Trumbull and Shelton in early August,” said Christine Pariseau, Senior Manager of Regional Operations at UI. “Their support of the line crews with logistics and supplies, contributions to grid operations and maintenance work, and focus on safety in all their work were all instrumental in making this summer a resounding success. Congratulations to the eight UI Trade Interns – you all have worked hard to make it to today, and I am so impressed with all that you have accomplished.”

“Teaching high school students to safely climb utility poles, use a bucket truck, and construct and maintain parts of the electric grid is no simple task, which is why I am so deeply appreciative to the members of our team who have spent the last 10 weeks training and leading the Trade Interns,” said Moses Rams, President of UWUA Local 470-1 and Chief Line Crew Leader at UI. “While these students have undoubtedly learned so much from us, I know I speak for all of us when I say that we’ve learned so much from them, too. The work we’ve invested in this important program will pay dividends in preparing the electric industry for the challenges of tomorrow, and I am thankful for the support of leadership at Avangrid and UI to make it a reality for another summer. I can’t wait to see these graduates excel in their careers following their high school graduation next summer.”

#  #  #

Media Contact:

Nodo: liferay-1:8080