Diversity In Action

American Electric Power: hiring and promoting diversity

The giant electric utility needs engineers and IT pros to keep power flowing from its eighty stations through its multi-miles of transmission lines

American Electric Power (AEP) is one of the largest electric utility companies in the U.S. It owns nearly 38,000 MW of generating capacity and the nation’s largest transmission system, delivering electricity to more than 5 million customers in eleven states.

The company is a strong proponent of fuel diversity.
Its eighty generating stations are divided among coal, natural gas and nuclear, plus a small but significant percentage of wind, hydro, pumped storage and
other sources.

Clearly AEP needs a strong technical workforce to generate, transmit and distribute such massive quantities of electric power.

“On the engineering side, we hire civil, nuclear, electrical, environmental, chemical, industrial and mechanical engineers,” says Mary Cofer, director of diversity and culture. IT specialist jobs at AEP include business systems analysts, systems admins, software developers, project managers, quality assurance analysts and information security pros.

AEP is continuing to increase its technical workforce this year, adding some 200 new engineers and 200 IT-related folks. The company creates a diverse pool of talent through a variety of recruiting methods.

“We bring in co-ops and interns through diversity-oriented recruiting events at HBCUs and HSCUs, and attend the conventions of diverse technical associations like AABE and NSBE. We also sponsor scholarships and events for diverse populations, host meetings and tours, and attend community career fairs like those put on by the Columbus Urban League and the VA,” Cofer explains.

On the job, AEP supports some 116 employee and retired employee groups and has diversity committees at its various venues.

Also in place is diversity training. All new employees take a class on diversity in the workplace. New managers take a class on managing diversity.

Mentoring is another important diversity initiative at AEP. “We currently manage structured mentoring as part of our targeted development program,” Cofer says. Targeted development participants are interviewed and a profile is developed to help match them with well-suited mentoring partners. Mentoring can also help new hires develop a good work/life balance,
Cofer adds.

The company sponsors a number of other programs, from adoption aid and backup care to emergency disaster relief. It encourages community involvement outside the workplace: AEP folks at various locales tutor high school students and participate in a national day of service, for example.

“Attracting diverse candidates is not just the right thing to do. It’s essential if we’re to successfully staff tomorrow’s workforce,” Cofer declares.

D/C