Diversity In Action

PSEG is one of the best places to launch a career

There are openings for technical people who want to work hands on in utility and power. Internships and co-ops are available

With energy issues on the front burner, Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG, Newark, NJ) is grooming college students and new grads to meet power industry demands of today and tomorrow.

“We realize that the highly complex jobs we need to fill are not the kind you prepare for in a week or two,” says Sally Nadler, manager for college relations. “In addition to retaining knowledgeable employees, we have to build a workforce.”

PSEG is a publicly traded diversified energy company with three major elements: PSE&G, a regulated electric and gas distribution business that delivers energy; PSEG Power, which generates electricity; and PSEG Energy Holdings, the parent of PSEG’s other unregulated businesses, including renewable energy.

The company ranks 101 on Forbes magazine’s 2008 list of “400 best big companies” and 190 on the 2009 Fortune 500 list. PSEG was named one of the 2008 “best places to launch a career” by BusinessWeek magazine, and has received a number of industry awards for safety, reliability and customer service.

“We see our campus recruiting initiative as a strategic program to infuse diversity into the company,” says Nadler. “We recruit on campuses with strong academic programs and diverse demographics.”

PSEG offers three-month summer internships and six-month co-op programs. Its co-op partners are local schools like New Jersey Institute of Technology (Newark, NJ), Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, NJ) and Drexel University (Philadelphia, PA) for locations in southern NJ, but students at other schools are encouraged to apply.

Students need strong academics, specifically a 3.0 GPA, to qualify. Most internships and co-ops can lead to fulltime employment when openings are available.

PSEG serves 2.1 million electric customers and 1.7 million gas customers with a generating capacity of 13,300 MW over a 2,600 square mile geographic area. Nadler says that hands-on technical people are a good fit for both plant and field positions. A willingness to work shifts is required.

“You learn the business when you do shift work in the off hours,” she says. “That’s when you see the full extent of our operation.”

Ten employee resource groups support employees and provide a pool of recruiters for campus events. Nadler says that the 100 or so new grads hired in recent years have created their own group for young professionals. “They keep us connected to people in the pipeline,” she says.

Campus recruiters partner with employees who are members of organizations like SWE, NSBE, SHPE, the National Black MBA and National Women’s MBA associations and the National Society of Hispanic MBAs. The company hosts chapter events for panel discussions and networking at its Newark headquarters.

CEO Ralph Izzo says that PSEG is actively pursuing renewable energy technologies like wind, solar and compressed air storage. The construction of new fossil and nuclear power plants is also being considered. And the present power grid needs reinforcement. Utility and generation engineers will be needed to support these initiatives.

“We are proud of our commitment to the environment,” says Nadler. “I get resumes nationwide from people looking for companies that work with renewables. And of course we’re also committed to being a great place to work.”

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