CASEnergy Coalition Members Address Economic Opportunities and Jobs in Nuclear at National Conference
CASEnergy Coalition members Col. Eric Rojo and Dr. Gil Brown provided their perspectives on the importance of nuclear power at a meeting of the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators July 21-22. Col. Rojo, a former Department of Energy official, delivered the keynote speech at the NHCSL luncheon in Providence, R.I., focusing on the significant economic and job opportunities in the nuclear industry. Dr. Gil Brown, Professor and Coordinator of the Nuclear Engineering Program at The University of Massachusetts Lowell, spoke primarily on workforce training programs during the Nuclear Energy Town Hall at the event. Much of the open discussion at both forums focused on how to get the Hispanic community better educated about nuclear power and better informed about the job opportunities, workforce training and scholarships available through the industry.
The CASEnergy Coalition and its members are part of an ongoing effort to raise awareness of opportunities in the nuclear energy sector for the Latino and African-American communities. The nuclear industry offers accessible long-term, high-paying careers with salaries that are typically 36 percent higher than the average salaries in a given local area. Also, with 38 percent of the current nuclear industry work force eligible to retire within five years, there are opportunities that will become available to more than 25,000 potential workers.
CASEnergy has the support of several prominent organizations representing the Latino community, including The National Hispanic Environmental Council, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement and Hispanic American Construction Industry Association. For more information on our work with minorities in nuclear energy, please visit our Minorities in Nuclear Energy section.
In addition to his keynote speech at NHCSL, Col. Rojo talked with a reporter from News Taco, a daily Latino blog providing news analysis. He talked about how nuclear power plays a critical role in meeting a growing demand for energy in the U.S. You can read the full interview here.
