Houston’s workforce challenges are rarely solved by one employer, one program or one organization. Stronger talent pipelines are built when employers, community organizations and workforce partners work together around a shared need.
The inaugural Energy Expressway pilot offered a powerful example of what that can look like.
Twenty-nine recent high school graduates completed the program, earning OSHA 10 and CPR/First Aid certifications while exploring five high-demand career pathways: electrician, lineman, gas operations, heavy equipment operator and renewable energy. Thirteen graduates were hired by Hays Electrical and are now participating in a paid accelerated apprenticeship program, while two were hired by CenterPoint Energy’s Gas Operations team. Additional electrical hiring decisions from CenterPoint Energy and Quanta Services are still pending.
From workforce need to real opportunity
Energy Expressway grew with support of UpSkill Houston’s employer-led work to better understand talent needs in skilled trades and build clearer pathways into high-demand careers.
Rather than starting with a program and looking for employers to participate, partners started with a workforce need and built the experience around it.
Quanta Services and CenterPoint Energy provided technical expertise, instructors, career guidance and hands-on industry exposure. CenterPoint hosted participants at its Hiram O. Clarke Training Center, giving students the opportunity to learn in a real industry environment.
BridgeYear recruited and prepared participants, coordinated mock interviews and helped students build the confidence and skills to connect directly with employers.
The program’s Lunch & Learn sessions added another important layer, giving students direct access to employers while combining real-world career insight with practical life skills and clear next-step opportunities. Those conversations helped participants better understand not only what different careers look like, but how to prepare for and pursue them.
Participating Lunch & Learn organizations:
- Bank of America
- Bechtel
- Burns & McDonnell
- Centerpoint
- DIGCO
- Hays Electrical Services
- Houston City College
- North Houston Pole Line
- Northwest Lineman College
- NRG
- Quanta
The Greater Houston Partnership, through its UpSkill Houston workforce development initiative, helped convene the collaboration and bring the pieces together.
“We were honored to be a part of Energy Expressway because Houston’s employers need talent and Houston’s students need a way in. Too often neither side knows how to find the other. Congratulations to all twenty-nine graduates. They came in without an energy background but all left with two certifications and five career pathways they can speak to – and more than half left with conditional employment offers. When students are prepared and employers open the door, the pipeline builds itself.”
— Victoria Chen, BridgeYear
Why partnerships like this matter
For employers, programs like Energy Expressway are more than community engagement. They are a way to introduce young people to hard-to-fill careers, communicate what the work really requires and build relationships with potential future employees.
For community organizations, these partnerships create stronger connections between the people they serve and employers offering real career opportunities. Their knowledge, trust and preparation are critical to helping participants move from exposure to action.
“They gave me an opportunity I never thought I would have, and now I think I’m going to be okay in life”
— Energy Expressway student
That combination is central to UpSkill Houston’s broader strategy.
Workforce development is economic development. Employers grow when they can find and develop the people they need. Houstonians advance when they can see clear routes to skills, experience and family-sustaining careers.
Energy Expressway shows what can happen when those goals are addressed together.
“At Quanta, investing in people is at the heart of how we build for the future. Energy Expressway gave us the opportunity to work alongside committed partners to help young people see a place for themselves in the industries that power their communities. These graduates brought curiosity, determination and a willingness to learn, and we were grateful to play a part in their next steps. Together, we can help turn that potential into meaningful careers, strengthening families and communities along the way.”
— Mary Sizemore, Quanta
The inaugural pilot is one example, but the larger opportunity is to learn from it, strengthen the model and apply the same kind of employer-led, cross-sector collaboration to more of Houston’s workforce challenges.
Building stronger talent pipelines takes employers, educators and community organizations working together. Learn more about UpSkill Houston and how we’re connecting partners around Houston’s workforce needs, or explore current engagement opportunities to find a way for your organization to get involved.