Staff Reports - East Bay Municipal Utility District

To increase the qualified diverse candidate pool for planned machine and plant mechanic
maintenance trainee hires, EBMUD partnered with Laney College during the 2012 fall
semester to provide fifteen week internships for five students who had earned a one year
Industrial Maintenance program certificate. These interns gained hands-on skills and
learned about the work of District Plant Mechanics and Machinists. The trainee exam is
expected to be completed before training program students graduate in May 2013.
Trainee hires are planned for early FY14.
To increase the qualified diverse candidate pool for planned Plumber I hires, staff are
working to provide summer 2013 Plumber internships for graduates of Diablo Valley
College’s Pre-Apprenticeship program and graduates from the PG&E “Introduction to
Energy & Utility Careers for Women” training program.
To increase the qualified candidate pool for plant operators, EBMUD partners with Tri-
Valley Regional Occupation Program (ROP) and Solano College to provide Plant
Operator Internships. Wastewater and Operations staff provide four Operator internships
to help students gain in-plant work experience required by the state of California to earn
mandatory water and wastewater treatment certification.
Bring the Class Room to the Workplace
Three EBMUD Machinists volunteered to take the National Institute for Metalworking
Skills (NIMS) Measurement, Materials and Safety test in January to help the Laney
College Machine Technology department implement a NIMS certification program. Staff
gained more insight into the skills level required of Laney Machine Technology students,
and helped Laney College gain NIMS certification. This certification provides
prospective employers assurance that Laney College students have been trained to meet
exacting national metalworking standards.
Staff will present a workshop, “An Employer’s Perspective: Partnering with Colleges to
Increase Local, Qualified Diverse Job Candidates” at the California Internship & Work
Experience Association 39 th Annual Professional Development Conference in April. The
workshop will be attended by educators from two and four year colleges seeking best
practices to partner with employers.
The District continues to provide tours of EBMUD plants to local College and High
School instructors and students to increase understanding of District skilled trades
careers.
Staff continues to work with the Bay Area Community College Consortium (BACCC)
and other employers from the refinery, beverage, pharmaceutical, and water/wastewater
industries to develop strategies for increasing the qualified diverse Industrial
Maintenance Machinist and Mechanic (IMMM) candidate pool. EBMUD, Shell and
USS-POSCO offer IMMM internships, and are sharing their best practices and lessons
learned so other employers can develop similar intern programs.
Affirmative Action & Equal Employment Opportunity
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