Augusta Technical College president Jermaine Whirl has been appointed to the 21st Century Energy Workforce Advisory Board (EWAB), a new panel mandated by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed by President Joe Biden in November of 2021.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the names of the inaugural board members Monday. Whirl, whose doctorate is in organizational leadership, is listed alongside 13 other experts in workforce development, labor and energy.
The DOE established the board in April of this year to advise the Secretary of Energy on intersecting issues of labor, energy and industry.
The board’s charter, as described by the DOE, entails providing recommendations on how to meet current and burgeoning industry needs in the energy sector, including developing the workforce via aiding and supporting young job seekers and underrepresented workers such as minorities and veterans (a priority of the DOE’s Equity in Energy Initiative). The board is also tasked with analyzing current DOE workforce programming.
The specialist advisory position is certainly within Whirl’s wheelhouse. The announcement comes just more than a week before the third annual Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Technology Night is scheduled to kick off at SRP Park.
“This year we’re excited to showcase our industry partners while celebrating the first participants of our middle and high school advanced manufacturing summer camps,” said Whirl about the upcoming event. “We look forward to engaging students, parents, and the general public about the great careers available in our region.”
Each year Augusta Tech and the Augusta GreenJackets partner to host the STEM-themed fair, geared primarily to K-12 students, exhibiting works in robotics, 3D-printing, and other technology.
The inaugural festival was in 2021, one year after Whirl was named president of Augusta Tech.
The appointment also comes roughly three months after he was selected to serve on the board of directors of the American Association of Community Colleges, an advocacy organization for two-year institutions.
Six of the 14 EWAB members will serve through September 2025. Whirl, however, will have the role through September of 2026, being one of five members of the board who will serve three-year terms.
According to the DOE, the first meeting of the Energy Workforce Advisory Board will be in the fall.
The Third Annual Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Technology Night will be at SRP Park on Friday, Aug. 25 at 6 p.m. For more information, visit https://www.milb.com/augusta/community/atcmen.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
