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Energy Education

For twenty five years, Energy & Natural Resources (ENR) had been coupled with Agriculture under their shared Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources Career Cluster. However, Fall 2024 marked a significant milestone for the energy industry – through the Career & Technical (CTE) framework modernization, ENR was announced as a new, standalone career cluster. This national recognition of ENR is a meaningful step toward building a highly skilled and future-ready workforce, and it opens the door for more than 10 million CTE learners. The energy industry is rapidly growing and constantly evolving, offering a wealth of opportunities to young professionals.

However, although the new career cluster has been recognized at the national level, ENR education won’t be prioritized in classrooms until state-level cluster adoption occurs. It’s up to you, as industry stakeholders, to advocate for adoption of the ENR career cluster in your state.

It’s time to engage, inform, and support the movement for ENR career cluster adoption throughout the US. As key stakeholders, our asks of the industry are to:

  1. Register for EnergyConnector, our new platform that’s connecting industry partners with educational institutions across the US
  2. Plan outreach to your state Dept of Education and potential industry partners to support the new ENR Career Cluster
  3. Take advantage of our Career Awareness Materials and let your current education partners know about CEWD’s new resources
  4. Share key policy messaging with your government affairs team and request a meeting with the appropriate contacts
  5. Continue internal interest in workforce development by promoting apprenticeship and externship opportunities

Energy and Natural Resources Career Cluster Tracker

The map below tracks adoption progress of the Energy and Natural Resources Career Cluster across the US. The states in DARK NAVY are now able to offer energy education in the classroom, introducing new generations of students to careers in the energy sector. The states in GREY BLUE are states that adopted energy as a career cluster prior to national adoption. Please reach out to [email protected] if you have updates to share.