Kingston Trainees Bolster Workforce as Plant Nears Retirement

When E.B. Slouka was a police officer outside Chicago, this was not part of her life plan.

Growing up, Slouka moved around a lot with her family.

But if you’d told her she’d soon be starting a new career at a coal plant in Tennessee?

“I probably would have giggled,” Slouka said.

Yet she finds herself, alongside 18 other recent hires, midway through a rigorous training program at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County.

Slouka is the first to admit Kingston is a surprising place to begin a new career.

TVA plans to retire the coal plant by the end of 2027, replacing the generating capacity with natural gas, solar and battery storage.

TVA’s timeline calls for winding down all coal generation by 2035.

So Slouka and her peers may well be the final cohort of TVA-trained coal plant operators.

Like generations of plant operators before them, they are learning through an intense 22-month immersion of classroom study and hands-on apprenticeship.

It’s how TVA has kept a pipeline of skilled operators at coal plants around the region for many decades.

Slouka was struck by that strong training culture within her first few months.

“Kingston is very much a community,” she said. “They accept everybody who comes in as long as you work hard. They’re going to help hone you and teach you.”

Mike Rawlings, a former plant manager who coordinates workforce strategy for TVA coal operations, said the current crop of 62 trainees at Kingston and three other active coal plants has an important role to play.

Until the last coal fire goes out, every megawatt produced at Kingston – as well as TVA’s Cumberland and Gallatin fossil plants in Tennessee and Shawnee Fossil Plant in Kentucky – matters.

“We want to make sure we’re able to safely operate these facilities up to the very end at capacity,” Rawlings said.

Former police officer E.B. Slouka is a coal plant operator trainee at Kingston Fossil Plant.

Career Support

TVA employs almost 800 people at the four coal plants, including nearly 200 at Kingston.

Rawlings’ team provides coal plant employees with tools and resources to help determine their next career steps.

When a plant gets to within five years of its expected retirement, supportive services for employees kick in, Rawlings said.

These include: 

• A website with a career planning tool and other resources. 
• Introductory classes about operating other TVA plants, such as gas and hydro. 
• On-site opportunities to take qualification exams for other training programs at TVA. 
• Opportunities to bid on transfer locations. 
• Access to external educational and training programs. 
• Job shadowing within TVA. 
• On-site classes for resume-writing and interview skills. 
• Listening sessions. 
• Retirement benefits information. 

For Kingston employees already eligible or close to retirement, TVA will likely offer an incentive to work a few extra years, Rawlings said.

A good strategy for meeting staffing challenges is paramount as Kingston moves toward retirement, plant operations manager Richard “RT” Turner said.

“A lot of your young talent – they have to get off this bus and get on another one,” Turner said. The five-year advance planning window is crucial. “That has given our younger employees a chance to find positions in hydro or gas or even nuclear.

“We want each of our employees to be able to make a decision about what they need going forward as far as their employment at TVA.”

Trainees Drayton Myers, left, and Slouka place warning tags on machinery that is offline for repairs. 

"Up or Out"

Slouka and her fellow trainees knew Kingston wouldn’t be a long-term assignment, but they saw the Student Generating Plant Operator program as a chance to get a foot in the door.

Alec Currie, taking a break from two weeks of studying for an oral exam on turbine operation, said the training is far more comprehensive than what he received at previous jobs in the chemical and oil industries.

“My favorite part is getting the hands-on experience with supervision,” Currie said.

Drayton Myers agreed.

“It’s a demanding job, so you’ve got to know the equipment,” said Myers, a lifelong resident of nearby Bledsoe County with an industrial maintenance background. “You could be working on one thing and then suddenly get pulled to another, and suddenly get pulled to another. You have to stay on your toes.

“I’ve learned so much. It’s a very, very good experience. I’ve always wanted to work for TVA.”

The program includes 16 months of classroom study with weekly written exams. It covers five major modules – systems, electrical, turbines, boilers and integrated operations. There’s a four-hour oral test over each one

It’s an “up or out” structure – trainees must pass each module to continue, and each test is cumulative. Trainees are responsible for everything they’ve learned up to that date.

The classroom portion is followed by six months of on-the-job training, with a final eight-hour exam. Trainees who pass receive accreditation as assistant unit operators.

“I’ve studied more in the last eight months at TVA than ever before in my educational career,” Slouka said. “I had no idea that I had signed up for this much knowledge. But I’m very grateful for it.”

Trainee Alec Currie said the program at Kingston is far more comprehensive than his training for previous jobs in the chemical and oil industries.

Hitting the Books

Studying is a rite of passage that bonds plant staff over the decades.

Lead shift operations supervisor Jamie Wallace – who helps instruct and test trainees – is nearing retirement. But he can still recall being 7 years old, when his father entered the training program at Kingston.

“I remember my dad having to study a lot,” Wallace said. “I remember him having the books out. They would get study groups and study together.”

The hard work and the TVA operations pedigree pay off, Wallace said, even for trainees who might eventually seek employment elsewhere.

“We have a lot of training,” he said. “That training goes a long way. There’s a lot of companies that look at that and they’ll snatch them up.”

Myers, for one, sees his long-term future at TVA.

And even though he’ll have to transfer his skills to another area, Myers has no regrets about coming to Kingston for coal plant operator training.

“Everybody’s there to help you,” he said. “Any question that you have, people don’t hesitate to answer it for you or at least find an answer for you.”

When challenges arise, Myers added, “Everybody jumps in and works to solve the problem together.

“The atmosphere is just great. It’s a great, great place to be.”

Photo Gallery

Trainee Drayton Myers said he’s always wanted to work at TVA.

Myers, Currie and Slouka, from left, on the grounds at Kingston, may be among the final cohort of coal plant operators trained by TVA.

Slouka, Myers and Currie, from left, return from the coal yard at Kingston.

Lead shift operations supervisor Jamie Wallace, overlooking the transformer yard at Kingston, helps instruct and test trainees.

Assistant unit operator Chad Hadley, right, supervises Slouka’s work on an electrical cabinet.

The coal plant operator training program at Kingston includes 16 months of classroom study, then six months of on-the-job training.