Career Awareness Open House

Planning Toolkit

  1. Select Date/Time /Location

Will your event be /marketed to the public?

Will your event be geared towards students only or open to all?

Could hold event during Careers in Energy Week or some other time if it works better.

Should you hold it during the day and try to arrange bussing from area schools or hold the event after school or early evening so parents can bring them?

Dakota Electric held its event during Careers in Energy Week on Monday, October 13th from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. at our office. We really did not know what to expect but we had approximately 100 people in attendance. Some were current students in the lineworker program, high school students exploring careers as well as a few middle school students with their parents. We also had a couple of adults looking for job openings. We had meat/cheese/cracker platters as well as cookies and water and coffee for refreshments.

  1. Who to include?

Will you invite others like colleges who offer programs in the careers you are promoting?

Will you invite other utilities?

Are there specific careers you wish to promote? Hard to fill? Increasing openings?

At our open house last October 2014, we invited GRE, Xcel, IBEW, Centerpoint Energy, and other utility contractors we work with. We also included two colleges (DCTC and Southwest in Jackson who offer thePowerline Technician, Energy Technical Specialist and Substation Technician programs. We invited the U of MN to promote their Electrical Engineering/Power program but they did not come. I guess they get lots of requests and aren’t able to staff them all. We had employees representing the Powerline Specialist, Electrician Technician, Electric Engineer and Energy Services Representative positions. They had copies of their position descriptions available at their table as well as tools and software programs that they use to perform their jobs. We also provided tours about every ½ hour for anyone interested. The tours highlighted our dispatch center as well as a stop at one of the lineworker trucks where they showed them the tools and equipment used on the job. What I plan to do differently next time is include some hands-on activity that is related to the position. It would also be nice to include some companies who work with renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

  1. Are you able to offer a scholarship or some other prizes as a draw for attendance?

Dakota Electric had two $250 scholarships as door prizes that students could fill out an entry form for. The drawings were held the next week and the stipulation was that the $250 payment would be made directly to the college they were enrolled in. They had to provide proof of enrollment in the upcoming year. This worked very well and we hope to have scholarships again this year. Although not required to be eligible, one student/winner was enrolled in an electrician program and the other was enrolled in the powerline technician program. We also promoted a drawing for a tablet and an Amazon gift card if they “liked” our Get Into Energy Facebook site which was donated by Great River Energy and Dakota Electric and promoted by the entire Careers in Energy team. Another idea may be to reward someone for bringing a friend or fellow student with them to the Open House.

  1. Marketing of the Event

Do you want to put it in the newspaper, Facebook, Twitter, website and promote it at local schools and area chambers? Don’t forget Charter schools or homeschooled students. Get creative.

Dakota Electric did a press release for local newspapers. We also prepared a poster listing all the participants that was put on Facebook and handed out at Chamber meetings and sent to area schools. The toughest part was getting commitment from the other participants early enough to include their logos on the flyer. It was our first year so there may have been some reluctance at first. Those who participated felt the event was a success and worthwhile.

July 31, 2015