Ohio Energy Workforce Consortium Launches to Meet Growing State Energy Workforce Demand
Employer-led, cross-sector coalition unite to build Ohio’s energy talent pipeline
CLEVELAND, OH, June 9, 2026 – The Ohio Energy Workforce Consortium (OHEWC) today announced its official launch as the latest addition to the Center for Energy Workforce Development’s (CEWD) national network of energy industry workforce consortia, now spanning more than 20 states, at Big Bets for America: Cleveland. This sector-driven effort formed recently in response to projected historic energy industry hiring demands in Ohio, driven, in part, by increased electricity usage, AI datacenter development, and onshoring. Energy employers including AEP, AES, Ariel Corporation, Bi-Con Services, Columbia Gas of Ohio, Duke Energy, Enbridge Gas Ohio, FirstEnergy, Hooper Corp., InfraSource, Pike, Siemens, and TC Energy, and organizations like API Ohio and Utility Workers of America, Local 270—alongside institutions of higher education, K-12 systems, organized labor, workforce systems, and community-based organizations—are united around a shared goal to build the talent pipeline Ohio’s energy sector needs to grow.
“The Ohio Energy Workforce Consortium is exactly what this moment calls for,” said Missy Henriksen, executive director of CEWD. “Ohio’s energy employers are stepping up together to make sure the next generation knows these careers exist, what they pay, and how to get there. These are life-changing jobs, and this coalition is going to open the door to more energy careers for more Ohioans.”
According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2025 U.S. Energy & Employment Report, Ohio had 332,125 energy workers statewide in 2024, representing 3.9% of all U.S. energy jobs and 6% of state employment. Job distribution includes: 21,592 in Fuels; 25,831 in Electric Power Generation; 41,922 in Transmission, Distribution, and Storage; 81,397 in Energy Efficiency; and 161,383 in Motor Vehicles and Component Parts.
Big Bets for America: Cleveland is part of The Rockefeller Foundation’s national convening series to surface and scale bold solutions to the challenges facing vulnerable Americans and communities today. The Cleveland event, which was co-hosted by The Cleveland Foundation, brought together more than 350 leaders from business, philanthropy, civic organizations, training institutions, and the public sector at Hotel Cleveland. Henriksen joined Arielle Gurman, head of the BlackRock Foundation, Rebecca Anderson, senior fellow, McKinsey Global Institute, and Anne Richards, president & CEO, Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio, on the Big Bets for America stage to formally introduce the Consortium to a national audience that included Governor Mike DeWine, Mayor Justin Bibb, and Rockefeller Foundation President Dr. Rajiv J. Shah.
Ohio’s energy sector is expanding on multiple fronts. The state’s major utilities are planning tens of billions in transmission and infrastructure investment, driven by surging demand from data centers and industrial growth. Ohio’s natural gas and oil industry supported 375,000 jobs and contributed $58.8 billion to state GDP in 2019. Further, Ohio’s renewables sector is growing rapidly, with installed solar capacity exceeding 3,600 megawatts in 2024, with new utility-scale projects still underway. The Consortium brings Ohio’s energy employers and workforce partners together to meet this moment—aligning programs, sharing intelligence, and moving at a scale and speed that no single organization can match.
The urgency is clear:
A tightening labor market across critical energy and infrastructure trades highlights the urgency for action, with millions of new jobs expected over the next decade. This makes coordinated, industry-wide workforce development efforts essential now.
For more information about the Ohio Energy Workforce Consortium, contact [email protected]. To learn more about the Center for Energy Workforce Development, visit www.cewd.org. To learn more about industry careers, visit www.getintoenergy.org.
About The Center for Energy Workforce Development
The Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) is a non-profit consortium of energy employers, their associations, labor partners, and others committed to the development of a skilled energy workforce.