UI, CNG Trade Internship Programs Provide High School Students with Hands-On Training in Utility Industry

10-week paid summer internship with front-line union workers at UI and CNG is a key workforce development initiative for 11 rising seniors from local technical high schools


ORANGE, Conn. — June 24, 2024 — United Illuminating (UI) and Connecticut Natural Gas in Greenwich (CNG-Greenwich), subsidiaries of Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE: AGR), together with the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) Local 470-1 and UWUA Local 380, today announced they have launched their Trade Internship Programs, which are 10-week summer training programs for rising high school seniors to receive hands-on training from front-line union workers in the electric and natural gas utility industries. UI/UWUA Local 470-1, which are launching the second iteration of the program following a successful inaugural year in summer 2023, welcome eight students, and CNG-Greenwich/UWUA Local 380, which are launching their inaugural program in summer 2024, will bring on three rising seniors.

“After seeing such a successful first year at UI last summer, I am delighted to see this impactful internship program for local high school seniors launch again at UI and expand to another of our Connecticut operating companies in 2024,” said Frank Reynolds, President & CEO of UI and CNG. “Building the workforce of tomorrow is an urgent need across the utility industry: as the current workforce retires, 23,000 job openings are projected every year across the U.S. in these critical fields. UI and CNG, together with our partners at UWUA and our parent company Avangrid, have decided to stand in the gap to train up a new generation of workers today in fields where they’ll be sorely needed tomorrow. I am proud of our teams’ commitment to this innovative internship program, and I look forward to getting to know all these young people as they begin this summer with our companies.”

The Trade Internship Program, which begins today and will conclude with a graduation ceremony on August 30, introduces rising high school seniors to careers on the front-lines of the electricity and natural gas industries. Interns with UI’s trade internship will receive hands-on experience in fundamental skills in the lineworking industry, including pole-climbing, operating a bucket truck, and the safe operation of all equipment needed for the job. Interns with the CNG-Greenwich trade internship will learn about CNG’s system design, operation, and maintenance as they work alongside team members doing construction work in the field. Training in safety and reliability are key to all skill development for participating students.

“Avangrid is deeply committed to building opportunities for just, equitable workforce development in all the communities we serve,” said Kyra Patterson, Chief Human Resources Officer at Avangrid. “Recruiting students who live right here in our service area is one of the best ways we can extend the benefits of a fruitful, long-term career in the utility industry to our very own customers and communities. I am grateful to so many members of our team – from Human Resources to Operations, to our union leadership and beyond – for the work they have done to prepare for the start date of these bright young students, and I know everyone in the Avangrid family is delighted this day has at last arrived.”

Going into the second year of the UI/UWUA Local 470-1 internship, members of UI’s Electric Operations team, led by Senior Manager of Regional Operations Christine Pariseau, and members of UWUA Local 470-1, led by President Moses Rams, visited technical high schools across the UI service area to recruit students for the program. The eight interns who are beginning with the UI internship program are expected to graduate in 2025 from Platt Technical School (Milford), Bullard Havens Technical School (Bridgeport), Eli Whitney Technical School (Hamden), and Emmett O’Brien Technical School (Ansonia). The three students interning with the CNG-Greenwich are expected to graduate in 2025 from J.M. Wright Technical High School in Stamford. Their supervisors at each of the respective operating companies will work to connect them with field workers doing operations and maintenance work in their own communities whenever possible.

“At UI, serving our towns with safe, reliable power is our most important objective, and that starts with having a workforce that is fully trained in safely operating and maintaining the electric grid,” said Christine Pariseau, Senior Manager of Regional Operations at UI. “After so many months of collaborative visits to schools across our service territory to recruit these students, having these students officially on-board is both a great achievement and an exciting opening day. I can’t wait to see what all our team accomplishes as this new year kicks off.”

The UI trade internship program – the first of any Avangrid operating company, and one of the first in the country – launched in summer 2023 with nine students participating: five from Eli Whitney and four from Bullard Havens. This program, called the UI Union Scholars Program, was the first of any Avangrid operating company and one of the first of its kind across the energy industry. It spurred a replica in its sister company, CNG-Greenwich, and company and union leadership at other Avangrid companies, namely New York State Electric and Gas (NYSEG) and Rochester Gas & Electric (RGE), are considering launching similar programs in coming years as well.

“Welcoming 17- and 18-year-old students from local trade schools to UI’s front-line workforce for another summer is a testament to the partnership of the union, UI’s Electric Operations team, and Avangrid’s Human Resources team,” said Moses Rams, President of UWUA Local 470-1 and Chief Lineworker at UI. “Despite the challenges in training students to safely operate real electric equipment, our team has demonstrated real, steadfast commitment to this program, solidifying our dedication to training a new generation of tomorrow’s utility workforce. I’m excited to see this new cohort of interns learn and grow throughout the next 10 weeks, and like many of my colleagues, I’m equally excited to learn and grow from them.”

“All of us at CNG-Greenwich and UWUA Local 380 are excited to welcome these three stand-out students to our team this summer,” said Charlie Piro, President of UWUA Local 380 and Operations Technician at CNG-Greenwich. “All of us look forward to passing on the knowledge we’ve accumulated after many years in the natural gas industry to the next generation. We’re confident workforce development for young students will be key to developing tools, strategies, and technologies in both operations and safety that will keep this industry innovating and evolving for decades to come. Congratulations to all the interns: now the work begins!”

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