Exelon has long led with a business strategy that centers our core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which helps our communities thrive. We serve our customers and communities with excellence while celebrating and cultivating the most valuable, untapped resource in the energy industry: talented people in our service areas who want to learn new skills, do meaningful work, and create fulfilling careers. Systemic barriers to opportunity and economic security in communities of color have blocked access to work that has for generations created financial security and fueled economic growth for other communities in this country.
People have been held back—for far too long—from opportunity.
When we tolerate an imbalance of resources and opportunity, we limit progress for individuals, communities, and cities. As we build a cleaner-powered future, we must do so in a way that includes communities of color in technological progress. Our industry offers a wide range of family-sustaining jobs—in fuels, electric power generation, transmission, distribution and storage, energy efficiency, alternative energy, cyber security, data analytics, innovation, customer experience and fleet electrification. That’s a lot of people bringing home good paychecks and serving as powerful community role models. We care about that deeply at Exelon.
Opportunity is so important to us at Exelon that we currently offer more than 65 different workforce development programs across our six (6) utilities. These programs build capacity for long term careers now, while investing in the leaders of the future. For our part, Exelon has invested $30 million in workforce development the last two years, serving more than 22,000 participants. Exelon is a power company—and we are also an empower company.
Exelon’s impact as a business leader is tied directly to the impact we make every day for families and communities. We deeply value and prioritize workforce development because the economic security bolstered by these initiatives transforms lives, opening doors of access that stay open for the next generation. I’m proud that our programs were recognized with the highest honor at the CEWD 2021 Impact Awards for Workforce Development Excellence. We will continue to build on that honor by modeling community partnership and leadership for businesses across our industry. We will continue to do more and do it better.
What do we owe the customers and communities we serve, the people who are key to our business growth? For any business looking to grow equitably and sustainably, the answer to that question must be access and opportunity. At Exelon, we know that powering communities is about more than simply supplying power for everyday life. It’s about generating a cleaner, brighter, more secure future for our customers and communities.