Preparing Talent for Tomorrow: An Industry Imperative

Gulf Power Company: Who Are We? ACTE Convention - 12/01/2006 Gulf Power Company: Who Are We? 1,365 employees 427,000 customers 6 power plant sites - 3 sites are jointly owned - 2,659 MW capacity 137 substations/ 1,595 miles of transmission lines 7,644 miles of distribution lines (1,754 underground)

Southern Company Highlights Infrastructure Employees: 26,421 Average Service: 18 years Average Age: 45 years Turnover: 5.1% Infrastructure Transmission lines: 27,000 miles Substations: 3,700 Generation: 42,000 MW

1 in 3 U.S. workers is age 50 or older. The Challenge The need for skilled, well-educated workers is growing “More than 70% of HR executives say that incoming workers with inadequate skills are their most serious problem over the next three years.” – Deloitte Consulting Demand is up Supply is down By 2010 one in three U.S. workers will be age 50 or older By 2013, 43% of US Labor Force eligible for retirement In 2015, a 15% decline of ages 35 – 44; demand increases 25% 50% drop in graduating engineers during the past 15 years Sept. 1, 2002 T&D World In North Carolina a Progress study found 32% of 9th graders interested in Assoc. Degrees or skilled trade: demand will be 65% By the year 2050, the US population is projected to grow by almost 50% to 420 million with the greatest growth in non-white groups. In 2000 whites made up 69% of the US workforce; by 2050 it will be 50% and the percentage of Hispanics and Asians will double its current rate. Average age of today’s utility employee is 48 -almost 4 years older than the national average In a 2004 UBEC survey of utility CEOs, 85% indicated a potential lack of skilled workers threatens the company’s ability to meet customer needs. Carnegie Mellon found the demand for electric line workers will grow by 9% each year with 10,000 new jobs available annually by 2010 Need employees with some post secondary education and more advanced skills but the failure rates on utility pre-employment tests are increasing. ~500 power engineer graduates per year now; ~2000 in 1980’s IEEE Utility executives estimate at least ½ of the technical workforce will reach retirement age in 5–10 years 1 in 3 U.S. workers is age 50 or older. By 2015 a 15% decline is projected in ages 35 – 44.

The New Economic Development Reality A skilled workforce has become more important than land and buildings As layers of middle management have been eliminated, these workplace skills are increasingly required of all employees: Critical thinking/ Problem-solving Communication skills Teamwork Self-direction Global, civic, financial, economic & entrepreneurial literacy INNOVATIVE and CREATIVE thinking!

Energy Industry Workforce Challenges Utility workforce is four years older than national average – US Bureau of Labor Statistics Demand for technical and craft workers increasing Failure rates on pre-employment tests are increasing Potential threat to both productivity and reliability

Gulf Power’s Multi-Prong Approach Gulf Power Company Programs Southern Company Efforts State Efforts National Efforts Collaboration is Key! We approach workforce or talent development in a variety of ways We’ve been “seriously” working on this for 10 years now.

Gulf Power Company Programs STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Promotion Energy Career Awareness Energy Career Pipeline Development Programs Community Workforce Development The programs that Gulf Power dedicates resources to in our service territory fall in these 4 main categories

STEM Promotion Programs I LOVE Science BEST and FIRST Robotics Math in Energy Careers Day Electrathon Racing STEMflorida Of course Science, Technology, Engineering and Math are critical to success in all of our industry careers. We must actively promote this as US students are lagging other countries in these foundational areas of study. Here are the programs we use to raise student interest in the STEM disciplines: I LOVE Science - Increasing Local Opportunities for Volunteers Enthusiastic about Science • Started in 2006 - Focuses on Escambia and Santa Rosa fifth-grade students. • Provides curriculum, training and materials for volunteers (including about 30 Gulf Power employees) to deliver hands-on science activities monthly. Demonstrates how science is used in the real world and raises student interest in science. Goal is to have one community volunteer matched with every 5th grade classroom BEST Robotics – Boosting Engineering Science and Technology • Nationwide program started in 1993. Local hub at University of West Florida opened in 2007. • Creates interest in science and technology among middle and high school students through the use of high-energy, sports-like robotic competitions. • Gulf Power is a premier sponsor of the local hub, providing financial support and roughly 50 employee volunteers each year to help run game day and serve as mentors to teams. provide mentors to FIRST robotics teams at schools in Okaloosa County Math in Energy Careers Day Bring 50 high school, community college, and university math teachers/professors to Gulf Power for the day to share how math is used in careers throughout our company/industry Provides the math teachers with real-world examples they can use in the classroom Helps us address the challenge of graduates not being able to apply the math they’ve learned in our industry Electrathon Racing Sponsored by Gulf Power Engineering Society – provide many team mentors and volunteers to run race day Held at Five Flags Motor Speedway High School Teams build and race electric vehicles STEMflorida Statewide initiative focused on branding Florida’s STEM careers and raising student interest in and preparedness for these careers We have representatives on the Business Steering Council for this initiative www.stemflorida.net

Career Awareness Programs Energy Summer Camps Engineering Explorers Post Gulf Power Speakers’ Bureau for Career Fairs Even if students have the STEM fundamentals they need, many students are not aware of the great careers we offer in the energy industry. Many of our careers are “hidden” so students don’t know they are options for them. Through these programs, our goal is to raise awareness of the many careers and career growth opportunities our energy industry – and Gulf Power – offer. Energy Summer Camps Week-long camps held at University of West Florida Pensacola campus Two camps: one for upper elementary and one for middle school students We design schedule/ activities Based on NEED (National Energy Education Development Project) materials (www.need.org) We provide daily instructional support and guest subject matter expert instructors Engineering Explorers Post Sponsored by Gulf Power Engineering Society For upper middle and high school students Held monthly at various Gulf Power facilities Raises exposure to and interest in Gulf Power and energy careers Speakers Bureau for Career Fairs Trained roughly 75 Gulf Power employees in career awareness presentation so they can assist in career fairs throughout our service territory We participate in numerous career fairs and career overview presentations from the elementary school level on up through university level

Talent Development Pipeline Programs Once a student’s interest is raised in an energy career, we have to help them become more prepared to enter our careers. These Talent Development Pipeline Programs do just that – they actively prepare students for entry-level employment in our industry – either following high school graduation or following post-secondary (technical center, community college, or university) completion. Focus of all programs is to raise PREPAREDNESS for our entry-level careers across the company, with a key focus on entry-level plant, power delivery, and customer service positions following high school and entry-level engineering following college. These programs all require a long-term commitment on our part to participate in the design of and implementation of the program in a meaningful way and for many years.

Gulf Power Academy Class of 2009 Gulf Power Academy, WFHS Gulf Power Academy Class of 2009 WFHS: West Florida High School of Advanced Technology – located in Pensacola – is a comprehensive high school that students have to apply to enter then get selected from a lottery (over 1000 students apply every year for the roughly 340 openings) Graduated first class in May, 2005: 2005 – 2009 (graduating classes): Test qualified on EEI pre-employment – 99% Hired - 21% (6 – 11 each year depending upon needs) Went on to college - 48% Military - 5% Other occupation - 26% Gulf Power Academy seniors have significantly higher success rates on industry pre-employment tests than non-program job candidates Prepares students for work AND college – 50% go on to pursue 4 year degrees, primarily in engineering Creates a love of learning that continues after they are employed with us through our tuition reimbursement program Earned premier “distinguished” rating when evaluated against national small learning community standards in 2007 First major partnership to develop qualified, applicant pool opened August, 2001

Gulf Power Partnership Includes: $25,000 per year donation to WFHS Guidance, support & instructional assistance in the Gulf Power Academy (Program Advisory Council) Serve on School Advisory Council Support of entire school through participation in Career Days, Open House, publicity events No commitment to hire students at end of program - no commitment for students to work for us

Gulf Power Academy Key Components Academic rigor plus “hands-on” experience, based on NCCER Electrical Curriculum Mentoring Program Junior Year Advanced Career Experience (ACE) program Senior Year Over 50 % go on to college, utilizing 15 hours of articulated credit from the program We provide guest instructors, employee mentors, and work experiences – full engagement! Students are prepared for work AND college

Gulf Power Academy Mentoring Program 12th Grade students matched with Gulf Power Employee (consideration given to job responsibilities/ experience, & individual characteristics) Provides students direction, guidance, and a direct link to one Gulf Power employee Provides Gulf Power an opportunity to make a determination about each student’s employability One Mentor Day per month scheduled Additional interaction outside of Mentor Days based on individual relationship Mentors do not transport mentees first semester Parents are invited to Mentor Program Kick-Off Dinner at Gulf Power to meet mentors and understand program

Advanced Career Experience (ACE) Host 17 – 25 senior students each year, from GPA, Pre-engineering, Cox, and AOIT (this year: 20 ACE students) Students come to Gulf Power to learn & work instead of going to school every other day If successful on our industry pre-employment tests 1st semester, students are paid while learning/working 2nd semester Cox is the Cox Telecommunications Academy (similar curriculum content to ours) AOIT is the Academies of Information Technology where students are preparing for IT careers

Advanced Career Experience (ACE) Second semester - OJT in jobs of student’s choice Plant Meter Shop Line Crews Customer Service Engineering Substation Accounting Information Technology Carried out under Partial Waiver to Hazardous Occupations Section of Child Labor Laws with tremendous focus on Safety! Each student receives individualized schedule rotating them through positions of interest to them…

Gulf Power Academy Results Gulf Power Academy seniors have significantly higher success rates on industry pre-employment tests than non-program job candidates Prepares students for work AND college – 50% go on to pursue 4 year degrees, primarily in engineering Have hired 6 – 11 each year into entry-level careers at Gulf Power Company (since first graduating class in May of 2005) Hire into entry-level positions in power plants, power delivery, and customer service Though this is our “flagship” program, we also have replicated at two other schools in our service territory (Locklin Tech in Milton and Laurel Hill School in northern Okaloosa county)

Community Workforce Development Every Child a Reader in Escambia (ECARE) Founding member of community collaborative focused on emergent literacy Goal is to have every student who enters kindergarten test “ready” when they begin Ford Next Generation Learning Community Program for ECSD & SRCSD Founding member of community collaborative to increase numbers and quality of career academies in our area In addition to the programs we support that are focused just on Gulf Power company careers, we also support community initiatives designed to increase the overall talent supply in our region This sums up the Gulf Power programs – we’ll now move onto how we approach talent development at the Southern Company level

Southern Company Efforts Southern Company Workforce Development Council Includes representative from each operating company Allows us to leverage our work Three key focus areas: Programs (Career Awareness) Pipelines (Talent Development) Partnerships (Collaborations) Coordination at the Southern Company Level allows us to leverage our resources across Southern Company, and have one voice for Workforce Development We focus in on the same key areas – Career Awareness Programs Talent Development Pipelines Internal and External Collaborations Has allowed us to beg, borrow, and steal from each other and create so much more than we could if we only worked within our operating companies

Southern Company 2009 Summary PROGRAMS (Career Awareness): New “Power Up” career awareness/branding campaign Employee “Career Awareness Teams” Seven summer energy camps Two “On the Job” Television shows – “Women in Non-Traditional Roles” and “Careers at Southern Nuclear” Outreach to over 12,000 students and educators through Southern Company’s various career awareness activities and events PIPELINES (Talent): 11 Talent Pipeline programs Hired 18 students (138 from ’05-present) from Intern Programs Hired 25 students (156 from ‘05-present) from Talent Pipeline programs Created partnerships with four additional technical colleges for future Talent Pipelines Created a comprehensive workforce development plan for Southern Nuclear This is an inventory of Southern Company level workforce development results for 2009 Point is just to show that we roll this up to the overall holding company level and coordinate efforts throughout Partnerships (External Strategic): CEWD ongoing support and participation on Executive and Education Councils Leadership for state Energy and Industrial Construction Consortia Partnered with Federal, State and Local Workforce Development entities on funding and pipeline development opportunities resulting in over $10 million dollars in secured federal grant funding for energy and/or construction job training Leadership on industry specific organizations (i.e., SEMTA, NEI, CGIA, ACRI)

Southern Company High School Materials This is our Southern Company developed high school recruiting materials we all created together and all utilize in each of our states -sent packet of posters, brochures, and cards to 85 NW Florida schools Allows us to brand our careers throughout the Southeast

Southern Company Military Branding Campaign This is our Southern Company military branding campaign we all use In addition to recruiting students, we actively recruit out of the military and mid-career transition folks. This wraps up the overview of the Southern Company efforts. Now let’s talk about what we’re doing with other energy companies in our state 12 23

Florida Energy Workforce Consortium (FEWC) Industry Chair, Jennifer Grove, Gulf Power Company Years ago we realized that there is so much more that we as an industry in our state could do together than we could each do alone as individual companies So, we formed the first state energy workforce consortium and developed this brand above to brand Florida’s energy careers www.fewc.org

FEWC First state consortium to form in April 2006 to identify and develop solutions to meet the current and future workforce needs of utilities in Florida – now over 60 members Comprised of utility representatives, contractors, contractor associations, state and local secondary and post-secondary education representatives, state and local workforce system representatives, IBEW, and building trades Focus is to leverage our activities across the state – together we can accomplish so much more for our industry than we could individually Though we were the first, we have helped create others. There are now over 22 state energy workforce consortiums, including one in all of our other Southern Company states – Georgia, AL and MS. Key results: Creation of an Employ Florida Banner Centers for Energy and Alternative Energy for post-secondary curriculum leadership (with state workforce funding) Secured $1.5M of state workforce funding for industry in rural areas and $13M+ from ARRA funds Career awareness and outreach presence at numerous events Get into Energy Florida! student branding competition Compete for a talent PUDDLE OR work to create a talent POOL

FEWC website: www.fewc.org FEWC Recent Accomplishments: Wrote new Florida Department of Education Energy Curriculum Frameworks to match industry needs Had “Energy” added as 17th career cluster in Florida Secured $13M+ from ARRA funds and $1.5M of state workforce funding for Florida energy workforce development programs FEWC website: www.fewc.org continue to visit and replicate through regional partnerships successful energy workforce development secondary and post-secondary programs All of the state consortia get support from our national organization, Center for Energy Workforce Development

Industry Solutions – Regional Implementation National Solution First partnership between utilities and their associations – EEI, AGA, NEI and NRECA to focus solely on these issues Utilities, associations and supplemental labor contractors join as members Partnering with educational institutions, workforce system, and unions to create workable solutions Industry Solutions – Regional Implementation Southern Company was one of the founding organizations of this group Is housed in EEI CEWD has a single focus – meeting tomorrow’s energy workforce needs. Incorporated in March, 2006

This is the landing page to our national branding site www This is the landing page to our national branding site www.getintoenergy.com

State Energy Workforce Consortia WA MN OR CT MI PA IA NJ OH IN MD VA CA CO MO KY NC TN SC CEWD has helped to replicate our Florida Energy Workforce Consortia into all these other states CEWD has proven to be a great national resource for our industry to move our talent development initiatives forward at a national scale AZ GA MS AL TX LA FL Existing Consortium Planned Consortium

Key Takeaways… STEM is our future! Students must have opportunities to learn about/ experience potential careers BEFORE deciding what to do following high school Rigor and relevance are an option and requirement for ALL students to be successful

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