Electric Co-Ops Uniquely Positioned to Attract Employees, said Experts

ORLANDO, August 22, 2023 – Electric cooperatives are uniquely positioned to attract employees despite labor shortage concerns, said electric cooperative experts on a panel at Fiber Connect Monday.

Randy Everett, chief information officer for First Electric Cooperative Corporation, said that electric co-ops can provide stability to employees and give them a sense of fulfillment in their job.

Bringing fiber to the home in areas that have been historically left behind is an important mission, he said. When people hear the stories of people finally getting connected after years of no internet, they want to be part of that and have a part of that gratification that comes from making a difference in other people’s lives, said Everett.

Everett advised electric co-ops to hire local talent to design and build broadband networks to avoid having to build networks from scratch. He suggested that hiring local talent can help make the project more time and money efficient.

Local talent can design, acquire necessary material and manage the project in a more efficient way, he said. “Go out and find the talent that has been there and has done this work and just give them the tools and get out of the way.”

Robby Theodore, outside fiber plant manager for First Electric Cooperative, agreed. “Thankfully we’ve been able to pull different talent from different areas with experience,” he said.

Industry leaders have reiterated a call for more workforce training and development at Fiber Connect. Experts expressed concerns over the lack of skilled labor to build out internet networks, especially in light of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity Access and Deployment funding that will make its way to states in the upcoming years.

Some experts have touted electric co-ops as the ideal grantee for the BEAD program because they are well suited to build public owned networks that then can either be operated by the co-op or leased to private providers. Experts claim that fiber networks can reduce operating costs for electric co-ops as well as connect residents to the internet.