Training: a great investment for your utility

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Training. It’s something many utilities embrace for new employees, but perhaps something that falls to the bottom of the to-do list for long-time personnel. Why is it important to your organization?

Providing training opportunities to all personnel is a great investment for your utility. Aside from brushing up on core job skills, training can often spark renewed interest and company loyalty among those trained. Employees who receive regular training understand that your utility is making an investment in their future with the organization. This positive feeling can translate to improved productivity, greater care in the quality of work produced, increased safety and fewer mistakes. This saves your organization money in the long run.

For linemen and other field workers, regular training is part of the certification process. Because utilities invest so much time and money into training electric operations personnel, utilities sometimes forget that all employee groups benefit from regular training opportunities. Office personnel, management and other staff training can help bring new ideas and management techniques into the organization and boost performance and loyalty.

NEPPA recognizes a need for increased training opportunities for all types of utility personnel, and is working to expand the opportunities available to member utilities. New Executive Director Larry Brownell will be reaching out to NEPPA members over the next couple of months to find out more about each utility’s unique training needs. This effort will help NEPPA and the Training Committee develop programs that present real value and opportunity to members. Please be sure to share your thoughts on training with Larry to help us create a more robust and effective training portfolio in 2012.