Water
Workforce Development

NJ American Water Launches 2022 Water UP! Training Program

Providing Opportunities and Training for New Water Utility Workers

New Jersey American Water has launched its second annual Water UP! – Water Utility Pipeline – training program, a paid, 11-week workforce development program for adults, created in partnership with APEX Solutions Group. The program offers water utility and other essential business training to equip participants with the skills needed to successfully enter the industry upon graduation.

Water UP! aims to help adults from traditionally underserved areas in the company’s footprint pave their career path in the water utility industry by exposing them to a multitude of skill sets including utility-specific training, customer service training, key administrative skills, and OSHA 30 certification. This helps participants identify their interests and strengths and will ultimately lead them to pursue their future professions in the water and wastewater field.

“It’s important for the future of our company and the water utility industry to not only invest in our technology and infrastructure, but also in the talent behind it,” said Mark McDonough, President, New Jersey American Water. “The goal of our Water UP! training program is to inspire a new generation of qualified and diverse water utility workers and create a path to employment with our company, as well as a lifelong career in this essential and rewarding industry.”

The 2022 Water UP! class features 15 adults, most of them from Plainfield, who were selected by New Jersey American Water and APEX Solutions through an application and interview process. Over an 11-week course based at New Jersey American Water’s Plainfield Operations Center, the group will experience hands-on field training facilitated by New Jersey American Water and classroom-based lessons administered by APEX Solutions Group. Upon completion of the Water UP! program, participants will be uniquely qualified for open roles within New Jersey American Water, as well as roles with its utility industry partners.

The inaugural Water UP! program was held in the fall of 2021 in Camden and Delran, in partnership with APEX and Hopeworks, which resulted in all eight graduates receiving full-time employment offers, four of them with New Jersey American Water. More information about New Jersey American Water’s Water UP! training program and its other workforce development initiatives is available on the company’s website, newjerseyamwater.com, under About Us, Workforce Development.

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