By: Ashmar Mandou

According to ComEd, with as many as 150,000 jobs coming to Illinois by 2050 to support the clean energy transition, its successful CONSTRUCT Youth Academy is one way to equip future generations with opportunities to grow in a fast-paced industry. “ComEd and our partners are committed to ensuring that our youth are aware of the wide variety of in demand and good-paying careers in the energy sector that deliver reliable power to more than 9 million people across northern Illinois,” said Melissa Washington, SVP of Customer Operations and Strategic Initiatives. “It is through youth-centered programs, like the CONSTRUCT Youth Academy, that we are reaching our future workforce and expanding a skilled and diverse talent pool that will be key to delivering a cleaner and brighter future for our communities.”

ComEd in conjunction with its partners the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago and Goodwill Greater Milwaukee & Chicago, offered a paid summer career exposure program for high school students interested in careers in the construction and energy fields. During the three-week program, teens learned about the wide array of careers in energy, from entry-level craft positions to roles in STEM, such as engineering. “It was really interesting and I learned a lot,” said Cicero native and recent CONSTRUCT graduate Jacob Sosa, who learned about the program through the YMCA. “We had the opportunity to take field trips, we learned about power grids, spoke with leaders in the filed… it was really nice to meet new people.” Sosa expressed plans to go into the trades upon high school graduation. “I come from a family of electricians, so it’s something that always interested me. With the help of the CONSTRUCT program I am able to understand the field a little more,” said Sosa. “I would tell students interested in careers in the trades to give this a program a chance. You will learn a lot.”

This year’s CONSTRUCT Youth Academy participants attended classroom sessions three times a week held across YMCA locations in Woodlawn, West Humboldt Park, and Little Village, and through Goodwill’s Workforce Connection Center in Englewood. The CONSTRUCT Youth Academy builds on the success of the CONSTRUCT Infrastructure Academy, ComEd’s workforce development program, which has trained more than 900 local residents for roles in the construction and energy fields and placed more than 70 percent in entry-level jobs. For additional information about the ComEd CONSTRUCT Infrastructure Youth Academy, visit www.comed.com/safety-community/education/career-training

Photo Caption: (Left to Right) Maria A. Punzo-Arias, Cicero Town Clerk congratulating recent ComEd Construct Infrastructure Youth Academy graduate, Jacob Sosa, standing alongside his father Paul Sosa, during a ceremony at the Town of Cicero late July.

Photo Credit: ComEd