IE Utilities Agency Welcomes Three New Interns

The Inland Empire Utilities Agency recently collaborated with IEWorks to welcome three new interns in the operations division. The agency’s board of directors executed a charter in May 2021 to sign on as a participating agency for IEWorks, a workforce development group developed by Jewish Vocational Services (JVS) that focuses on developing qualified employees in the water and wastewater sectors.

“Our partnership with JVS and IEWorks will provide experiences that will have a lasting impact for community college students, and I am excited for the additional opportunities that foster diversity and workforce training in the Inland Empire region,” said Jasmin Hall, IEUA board president. “We are planting seeds for the future by providing paid on-the-job training that will increase the knowledge and expertise required for our future water leaders to grow and eventually step into critical roles in the water/wastewater industries.”

The IEWorks program will serve as an extension of the agency’s current Internship Trades Program (ITP). The ITP was developed to provide college students opportunities to enhance classroom learning experiences by gaining real-world work experience. Through the IEWorks program, up to 10 intern positions will be offered annually with IEUA, but will be overseen, managed and partially funded by JVS. Replicating a similar successful workforce program located in the Bay Area named BAYWORK, JVS has secured a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to develop a water/wastewater workforce program within the Inland Empire.