New Jersey American Water Launches 2023 Water UP! Training Program in Partnership with Rowan College of South Jersey
Providing Career Opportunities and Training for New Water Utility Workers
Today, New Jersey American Water is launching its third annual Water UP! – Water Utility Pipeline – training program, a paid, 9-week workforce development program for adults, in partnership with Rowan College of South Jersey. The training program, which runs through November 10, will equip this year’s cohort with hands-on water utility and essential business training necessary to join the water and wastewater utility industry upon graduation.
Water UP! aims to help adults from traditionally underserved areas in the company’s footprint pave their career path in the water utility industry by exposing them to a multitude of skill sets including utility-specific training, customer service training, key administrative skills, and OSHA 30 certification. This helps participants identify their interests and strengths and will ultimately lead them to pursue their future professions in the water and wastewater field.
“The sustainability and longevity of the water utility industry is only as good as its employees, which is why it is so important that we continue training programs like Water UP! to invest in a new generation of talent,” said Mark McDonough, President, New Jersey American Water. “Each year, the Water UP! program brings together qualified and diverse professionals that will carry out a commitment to providing high-quality, reliable water and wastewater service with the tools to excel in a lifelong career.”
The 2023 Water UP! class features 10 adults who were selected by New Jersey American Water and Rowan College of South Jersey through an application and interview process. Over a 9-week course based at Rowan College of South Jersey’s Career and Technical Education Department and New Jersey American Water’s new Lawnside Operations Center, the group will experience classroom-based lessons administered by Rowan College and hands-on field training facilitated by New Jersey American Water.
McDonough added that this year’s program is especially impactful because it is the first one created in partnership with Rowan College of South Jersey, which provides participants with college credits that they can use as they continue to build their careers.
“We are excited to provide New Jersey American Water with a business curriculum for their Water UP program that will qualify participants to earn six college technical elective credits upon completion of the program,” said Brigette Satchell, Dean of Career and Technical Education at Rowan College of South Jersey. “This is a great example of how our program partnerships provide students and workers with the pathways they need to find new careers and opportunity, and to ensure that employers have access to a highly skilled workforce to meet critical labor market needs in South Jersey.”
Upon completion of the Water UP! program, participants will be uniquely qualified for open roles within New Jersey American Water or its utility industry partners, such as Utility Mechanic, Operations Specialist, Customer Service Representative, or Water Quality and Environmental Compliance Technician.
The 2023 Water UP! program is funded by a grant from the New Jersey Governor’s Office of Climate Action, the Green Economy & the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s the Building our Resilient, Inclusive, and Diverse Green Economy (BRIDGE) Initiative.
First launched two years ago, New Jersey American Water’s Water UP! program included an inaugural cohort in Camden and Delran in 2021, and Plainfield in 2022, successfully training eight and 13 graduates, respectively. Seven of the graduates received employment offers with New Jersey American Water or American Water, and others went on to work for additional utility companies or industry partners. More information about New Jersey American Water’s Water UP! training program and its other workforce development initiatives is available on the company’s website, newjerseyamwater.com, under About Us, Workforce Development.
Caption: New Jersey American Water’s 2023 Water UP! Class with External Affairs Specialist Doreene Bennett (far left) and Rowan College of South Jersey trainer, Johnathan “Israel” Thompson (far right).
New Jersey American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and wastewater services to approximately 2.8 million people. For more information, visit www.newjerseyamwater.com and follow New Jersey American Water on Twitter and Facebook.
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Today, New Jersey American Water is launching its third annual Water UP! – Water Utility Pipeline – training program, a paid, 9-week workforce development program for adults, in partnership with Rowan College of South Jersey. The training program, which runs through November 10, will equip this year’s cohort with hands-on water utility and essential business training necessary to join the water and wastewater utility industry upon graduation.
Water UP! aims to help adults from traditionally underserved areas in the company’s footprint pave their career path in the water utility industry by exposing them to a multitude of skill sets including utility-specific training, customer service training, key administrative skills, and OSHA 30 certification. This helps participants identify their interests and strengths and will ultimately lead them to pursue their future professions in the water and wastewater field.
“The sustainability and longevity of the water utility industry is only as good as its employees, which is why it is so important that we continue training programs like Water UP! to invest in a new generation of talent,” said Mark McDonough, President, New Jersey American Water. “Each year, the Water UP! program brings together qualified and diverse professionals that will carry out a commitment to providing high-quality, reliable water and wastewater service with the tools to excel in a lifelong career.”
The 2023 Water UP! class features 10 adults who were selected by New Jersey American Water and Rowan College of South Jersey through an application and interview process. Over a 9-week course based at Rowan College of South Jersey’s Career and Technical Education Department and New Jersey American Water’s new Lawnside Operations Center, the group will experience classroom-based lessons administered by Rowan College and hands-on field training facilitated by New Jersey American Water.
McDonough added that this year’s program is especially impactful because it is the first one created in partnership with Rowan College of South Jersey, which provides participants with college credits that they can use as they continue to build their careers.
“We are excited to provide New Jersey American Water with a business curriculum for their Water UP program that will qualify participants to earn six college technical elective credits upon completion of the program,” said Brigette Satchell, Dean of Career and Technical Education at Rowan College of South Jersey. “This is a great example of how our program partnerships provide students and workers with the pathways they need to find new careers and opportunity, and to ensure that employers have access to a highly skilled workforce to meet critical labor market needs in South Jersey.”
Upon completion of the Water UP! program, participants will be uniquely qualified for open roles within New Jersey American Water or its utility industry partners, such as Utility Mechanic, Operations Specialist, Customer Service Representative, or Water Quality and Environmental Compliance Technician.
The 2023 Water UP! program is funded by a grant from the New Jersey Governor’s Office of Climate Action, the Green Economy & the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s the Building our Resilient, Inclusive, and Diverse Green Economy (BRIDGE) Initiative.
First launched two years ago, New Jersey American Water’s Water UP! program included an inaugural cohort in Camden and Delran in 2021, and Plainfield in 2022, successfully training eight and 13 graduates, respectively. Seven of the graduates received employment offers with New Jersey American Water or American Water, and others went on to work for additional utility companies or industry partners. More information about New Jersey American Water’s Water UP! training program and its other workforce development initiatives is available on the company’s website, newjerseyamwater.com, under About Us, Workforce Development.
Caption: New Jersey American Water’s 2023 Water UP! Class with External Affairs Specialist Doreene Bennett (far left) and Rowan College of South Jersey trainer, Johnathan “Israel” Thompson (far right).
New Jersey American Water, a subsidiary of American Water (NYSE: AWK), is the largest investor-owned water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and wastewater services to approximately 2.8 million people. For more information, visit www.newjerseyamwater.com and follow New Jersey American Water on Twitter and Facebook.