CWEA’s coverage of the water workforce issues is supported by WaterTalent
In a recent interview published in TPO Magazine, Ingrid Bella of Santa Clara Valley Water District shares how their agency partners with organizations like BAYWORK to recruit the next generation of water professionals.
BAYWORK, in the San Francisco area, is taking a regional collaboration approach to workforce development. Its name is short for the Bay Area Water/Wastewater Workforce Development Collaborative, created in 2009 and now with 34 utility signatories. It’s available to all Bay Area water and wastewater utilities.TPO: Is it a challenge competing against other careers that tend to have higher profiles?
Bella: Here in Silicon Valley, we compete with the Googles and the Apples, so we have the challenge of raising the visibility of the water industry. We’re opening students’ eyes that, yes, there is a lot of excitement in our industry.
TPO: How exactly do you make the case?
Bella: It’s about letting them know that we have great jobs that are challenging and offer competitive salaries and benefit packages. It’s also a place where they can help restore our infrastructure and use new technology to deliver clean and safe water for our communities. It’s a good industry to be in because people want to help. That’s especially true for members of a new generation who are committed to protecting the environment and see ours as a green business that is going to help protect their futures.
Read the full article here.
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