National Grid's Loretta Smith Selected to Participate in U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Business Leads Institute

WALTHAM, MA (10/12/2010)(readMedia)-- National Grid's Director of Corporate Citizenship Loretta Smith was selected by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for a Competitive Workforce to participate in its recent Business LEADs Institute. Chosen for her leadership in the community, Smith joined 40 other business leaders from around the nation to learn how the business community can utilize its assets to drive positive transformation in communities across America in education and workforce training.

"Educating and training Americans for the jobs of the 21st century is essential to long-term economic growth in this country," said Karen Elzey, vice president of the Institute for a Competitive Workforce. "This program will allow the business community to play an active role in improving student success and the United State's ability to compete globally."

"We are proud to be part of an elite group of individuals and companies that want to make a difference," said Smith. "By being part of the movement to help reform education and workplace training, we are putting the power of action into play," she added.

At the core of National Grid's education reform work is its efforts to develop future engineers and technical workers. The centerpiece of the company's work in this area is its "Engineering Our Future" initiative, which was developed to inspire youth and attract and develop engineers. National Grid already has invested more than $3 million in this program to target students of all ages and backgrounds to encourage them to study science, technology, engineering and math, collectively known as "STEM."

Among National Grid's efforts is the company's Overhead Electric Line Worker Program, a joint effort with local community colleges. Advances in utility technology and increasing investment in enhancing electric networks further amplify the need for a skilled workforce. To help meet that demand, National Grid has joined with area colleges to develop the next generation of utility workers.

Meanwhile, according to a recent report by the U.S. Power and Energy Engineering Workforce Collaborative, about 45 percent of the engineers currently employed by the Nation's electric and natural gas utilities will be eligible for retirement over the next five years, creating a need for more than 7,000 engineers industry wide. At the same time, there is a significant decline in the number of students who are choosing to study engineering and related disciplines. As a result, the nation's utilities are facing what could become a crisis situation unless this trend is reversed.

"Loretta Smith and National Grid have proven to be deeply committed to the success of the community and its citizens," said Elzey. "The Business LEADs program will provide leaders like Ms. Smith with the knowledge and resources to help prepare the next generation of young people for a rapidly changing world."

The Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW) is the non profit, non partisan, 501(c)3 affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. ICW promotes the rigorous educational standards and effective job training systems needed to preserve the strength of America's greatest economic resource, its workforce.

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.

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