Focus on Workforce Development 

By Kris Polly

This month, we focus on workforce development, a critical concern for the hydropower industry and for water utilities more generally. With growing energy needs and a wave of retirements, hydropower owners and operators must attract young professionals to secure the future strength of the sector. 

In our cover story, we interview Michael Pulskamp, since 2024 the Bureau of Reclamation’s senior advisor for hydropower. We talk about the whole gamut of hydro issues, including workforce development, drought, infrastructure maintenance, and changes in the electricity market. 

Next, we speak with Sheila Corson, the president of the board of the Foundation for Water and Energy Education, which aims to educate K–12 students and build the hydropower workforce in the hydro-rich Pacific Northwest. 

Then, we interview the members of two university-based hydropower clubs: the Water Power Club at Wenatchee Valley College in Washington State and the Hydro Raiders of Texas Tech University. Both were set up under the auspices of the Hydropower Foundation’s Waterpower Club– Waterpower Community Partnership program. Interestingly, these students come from numerous disciplines, including engineering, business, computer science, and information technology. They tell us about the activities they’ve been able to undertake through their clubs and share their thoughts about how companies in the hydropower space can attract graduating students and young professionals. 

After that, we profile three companies serving the hydropower market. First, we speak with Dany Lessard, the owner and president of Hydro Expertise, which provides project management, site supervision, alignment and balancing, and other services to hydro owners. Next, we interview Stefan Einfalt of the Austrian Voestalpine Foundry Group, which produces parts for hydro facilities. Last, we speak with Shane McFadden, the CEO of Engineering and Construction Innovations, a Minnesota-based construction company that focuses on technically challenging projects, including dam rehabilitiations. 

Amplifying the voices of active leaders in the hydropower industry is the hallmark of this publication, and I’m glad that we can bring the same attention to the voices of the industry’s future leaders: current students. I hope that our conversations with these young people help inform the discussions that so many companies are having about how to build their workforces for the future. 

Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Hydro Leader magazine and the president and CEO of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.