THE FOLLOWING IS A VERMILION ADVANTAGE RELEASE
ABOVE: Earthrise Energy Senior Director of Operations (center, right) chats with Vermilion Advantage CEO Tim Dudley (center, left) during presentation of Earthrise’s $20,000 investment in VA’s SKYEPACK education initiative.
Danville, Illinois, April 26, 2023 — Earthrise Energy today awarded Vermilion Advantage $20,000 to expand a high school career development initiative in Vermilion County. The funds, awarded through Earthrise Energy’s RISE grant program, will support the expansion of Vermilion Advantage’s Skyepack initiative, a specialty curriculum designed to educate students about workforce skills and competencies to include renewable energy and healthcare sectors.
According to Vermilion Advantage, the economic development agency and chamber of commerce for Vermilion County, approximately 52% of county senior high school students are now skipping college upon graduation and lack a career path. To help these students find local employment, Vermilion Advantage rolled out its Skyepack initiative last fall with an initial focus on the manufacturing sector.
“Earthrise Energy was founded to accelerate the clean energy transition, and we need a trained and educated workforce to make that happen. Our partnership with Vermilion Advantage will grow the local talent pool we need for the future,” said Earthrise Energy CEO Carla Tully. “We also believe it is critical to close the healthcare service gap that exists in Vermilion County and ensure that our employees, their families, and those throughout the county receive the health care they need.”
Earthrise Energy owns and operates five natural gas plants in Illinois, including the Tilton Energy power plant in Tilton as well as the Gibson City Energy Center and the Shelby County Energy Center in central Illinois. The company is also building more than 1.5 gigawatts of renewable energy projects in the state.
“We thank Earthrise Energy for supporting this educational initiative, working to keep local talent local and working for our wonderful employers in our county. Many students in the area are graduating high school without a plan and unaware of the job options available to them here at home,” said Tim Dudley, CEO of Vermilion Advantage. “There are many growth opportunities in the renewable energy sector right now as the country shifts to a clean energy economy. We also need to encourage more students to consider joining the local healthcare industry. This funding will help us do both.”
The Earthrise Energy RISE Grants were launched in 2022 and are awarded to nonprofit organizations directly providing programs or services that aspire to improve the environment, support excellence in education, and uplift the communities where Earthrise operates.
For more information about Vermilion Advantage, go to vermilionadvantage.com.
THE FOLLOW IS NEUHOFF MEDIA’S ON-AIR STORY ON PRESENTATION
Wednesday’s Vermilion Advantage Business and Networking Luncheon at the David S. Palmer Arena was worth a $20,000 investment in Vermilion Advantage’s young and still developing SKYEPACK educational initiative, designed to show area students that there are very good job opportunities locally; with the hope of keeping the students in Vermilion County as they begin their working and adult lives.
The $20,000 check came from Earthrise Energy, who arrived in Tilton, taking over the natural gas power plant, just over a year ago. Vermilion Advantage CEO Tim Dudley says with the rollout of the SKYEPACK program focusing on area manufacturing jobs, it was great to see Earthrise Energy’s interest.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: Earthrise has been a great partner since they came to town. They got on board with us right early on. We realized that in order for our students to understand the jobs that are available in Vermilion County, that this is a great segue to that. So we’re really happy that Earthrise saw that potential.
Earthrise currently has four other natural gas plants in Illinois; in Crete, Gibson City, Manhattan, and Neoga. For Senior Director of Operations Scott Hallernan, the SKYEPACK initiative is a great way to get local students interested in working for them not only now, but during the future transition to solar power.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: There’s opportunities in the gas plants for employment; where we don’t have to look nationwide, we can look local. There’s opportunities coming as we develop solar capabilities not only in Vermilion County but across Illinois.
From the eyes of Vermilion Advantage Chamber Director Nicole Van Hyfte, SKYEPACK is only beginning.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: We started out with a very small pilot last October for Manufacturing Month. The next step is to do a bigger pilot. We have now received grants to move into healthcare.
While the SKYEPACK initiative is currently looking at high school students and their possible careers, the long range plan is to be working with younger students in the area as well.
