Coal-laboration

Teamwork and Adaptability Shape TVA’s Workforce to Ensure Long-Term Resilience and Reliability

As TVA meets the region’s rising demand for power by building new generating plants, it also continues to invest in legacy plants, which are critical to keeping the system reliable.

That investment goes beyond generating plants, transmission infrastructure and operational centers. It’s about people, too.

For instance, in February TVA welcomed 43 Student Generating Plant Operators (SGPO) participating in an 18‑month training program at Cumberland, Shawnee and Gallatin fossil plants. The classes are designed as a pathway for SGPOs to become assistant unit operators, which supports a strong workforce at TVA fossil plants.

Coal Operations also partnered with the Annual Trades & Labor Council to provide temporary workers – staff-augmented workers – the opportunity to become annual employees. Over time, workforce changes had created gaps in operator and craft pipelines, and several sites had come to rely on staff‑augmented workers for day‑to‑day operations.

“Our focus is taking care of the folks who have been taking care of us,” says Bob Sample, an HR Partnerships Consultant. “We want to welcome these well-trained staff‑aug workers into TVA‑annual roles whenever possible, providing stability for both the workforce and the plants themselves.”

A stronger workforce means a more reliable system. So, Sample and his Human Resources teammates have worked with leaders at Kingston, Cumberland, Shawnee and Gallatin fossil plants to fine-tune recruitment and training to make the onboarding process more efficient and a better experience for new employees.

Joshua Osborne, Manager of HR Partnerships, has a bird’s-eye view of this work and has helped identify gaps in programs and worked with partners to strengthen processes. 

“We want to provide stability for both the workforce and the plants themselves,” Osborne said. “We were initially focused on finding coal employees other opportunities around TVA, but now we’re shifting our strategy to ensure we have operators to run the plants.”

Those employees demonstrate that adaptability works: The expertise of TVA’s skilled workers has proven that steady hands make for steady times in the face of change.