Power Up Academy program receives energy industry’s top award for workforce innovation

CHICAGO -- (Business Wire)

In recognition of ComEd’s commitment to community-driven workforce programming and bringing strong outcomes for local job seekers, the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) has honored ComEd with the 2025 Community Partner Award. The award is reserved for companies and organizations in the energy power sector delivering innovative programs, anchored in community partnership, and which seek to ensure the workforce is reflective of the communities served.

The Community Partner award specifically recognizes ComEd for catalyzing a coalition of employers and nonprofits to launch Power Up Academy, to address a shortage of technical talent needed to support the future energy needs in Illinois. ComEd is committed to partnering with our community to invest in career training programs that prepare our residents to build meaningful careers that power our communities and needs of the industry in the years ahead and the clean energy goals of the state, as outlined in ComEd’s new Long-Range Strategy.

“Power Up Academy is more than a training program, it’s an investment in people and our communities,” said Melissa Y. Washington, SVP of Governmental, Regulatory and External Affairs at ComEd.“With the needs of the energy grid poised for major growth in the years ahead, our collaboration with a network of local employers, education leaders, and community based agencies will remain key to our work as we aim to build a workforce that reflects our communities and drives the clean energy transition forward.”

Launched in 2023, Power Up Academy was designed to address a critical gap in energy workforce development—preparing adult learners for entry-level technical roles such as design technicians and project coordinators without requiring a college degree. The 14-week program combines hands-on training in AutoCAD, electrical concepts, and project management with real-world scenarios and employer-led instruction. It is operated in partnership with Revolution Workshop, a Chicago-based nonprofit providing critical workforce training in the Trades.

“In collaboration with ComEd, local engineering firms and the Revolution Workshop, we are proud to have supported the launch of Power Up Academy, the only program of its kind in Chicago to provide a pathway for individuals into entry level design and construction management positions within the utility sector without a college degree,” said Manny Rodriguez, Executive Director of Revolution Workshop. “Our mission to assist underserved people obtain true economic mobility is not possible without employer partners like ComEd, and we look forward to our continued collaboration to develop career thriving pathways for the community.”

Since launching, Power Up Academy has expanded with additional employer sponsors, including 10 local engineering firms, and with new pathways through local educational institutions. ComEd worked with City College of Chicago to expand the program with accreditation, ensuring that participants of the program will have the opportunity to qualify for up to 13 credit hours as part of their 14-week training program.

“Our partnership with ComEd is impacting lives by creating a clear career path that leads to a family sustaining wage,” said Dr. Webb Walker, president of Kennedy-King College, a City College of Chicago. “In-line with our equity goals, The Power Up Academy and Professional Pathways initiative is giving our talented students the access and the ability to earn a degree in a high demand field, one that leads to success in work and in life, a mission we all share.”

Power Up Academy is just one example of a menu of workforce and skills training programs delivered by ComEd and in partnership with local workforce, educational, trades labor and other community centered agencies in the region. ComEd provides training for a myriad of roles – from construction and trades to energy efficiency and solar with youth and adult programs collectively reaching 1,000 local job seekers each year.

For more information about Power Up Academy and ComEd’s workforce development efforts, visit www.comed.com/workforce.

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 company and one of the nation’s largest utility companies, serving more than 10.7 million electricity and natural gas customers. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information, visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and YouTube.

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Contacts:

ComEd
Media Relations
312-394-3500

Source: ComEd