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As he peered up, Alex Rodriguez’s eyes widened.

Amid a summer spent learning about electricity, touring �ڰ�������’s E. Eugene Moore Manufacturing and Biotech Solutions Center was a special experience for Rodriguez, a Western Harnett High School senior. 

“It’s my first time in an industrial building with all the wires,” he said later in the visit, sharing his interest in working on electrical systems in a commercial or industrial setting. 

Rodriguez and his classmates got a behind-the-scenes tour of newly wired and yet-to-be renovated sections of the Moore Center as part of their participation in �ڰ������� and Harnett County Schools’ new Careers Electric Summer Academy pre-apprenticeship program. 

�ڰ������� held the academy in Harnett County in partnership with the school district and with help from area employers. The program was funded through a grant from the Siemens Foundation. 

Fifteen rising high school juniors and seniors took for-credit college classes on topics like electrical theory, construction safety, and blueprint reading, and participated in work-based learning, including a variety of educational visits to employer job sites, such as the Moore Center in Sanford. Students who completed the academy each received $2,000 as a stipend, in addition to travel cost assistance. 

�ڰ�������’s academy was one of 12 launched across the state this summer as part of the Careers Electric initiative, a program created by the North Carolina Business Committee for Education and the Siemens Foundation with the goal of training 25,000 North Carolinians for electrical careers within a decade.

NC Gov. Josh Stein’s office shared state labor market data showing that employment for electricians is projected to grow from approximately 25,800 to more than 28,500 from 2024 to 2034. The state is also projecting job growth in almost every category among occupations that require electrical knowledge – from power-line installers and telecommunications technicians to electrical engineers and electronics repairers. 

In addition, the average age for licensed electricians in North Carolina is in the upper 50s, posing a looming challenge for the workforce. That’s leading the state to look to recruit young people like Rodriguez to the profession. 

“I’m getting all the knowledge I can now, because I am still young,” Rodriguez said. “I’m taking all the classes, getting a certificate, trying to get my resume looking better.”

The most fascinating part of the academy, he said, was learning about electrical currents, in the context of how electrical technology continues to evolve. 

“They are going to keep making brand new stuff,” he said. “Somebody’s going to know how to wire it, and it's going to be us.”