Picture any big oil ad you’ve seen recently on TV and you get the idea; energy and utility companies are working hard to show Millennials they care about the environment.

It’s all part of an ongoing attempt to make jobs in energy and utilities more attractive to young jobseekers as positions at energy and utility companies continue to multiply, thanks to an aging workforce and in despite of a lagging economy.

"The energy and utility industry is one of the oldest workforces, and many of its workers are expected to retire over the next five to ten years," says PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) Director of Workforce Strategy and Diversity Van Ton-Quinliven.

"So there are great opportunities for people looking for careers in the energy sector."

Indeed, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that almost half of the utilities workforce will be nearing retirement age within the next 10 years, resulting in excellent opportunities for qualified entrants, more specifically, persons with college training or advanced technical education.

But techies and engineers aren’t the only ones who’ll be able to benefit from a wider playing field, points out Dawn E. Dzurilla, president and founder of Gaia Human Capital Consultants, which provides acquisition, executive search and employment branding solutions specifically for renewable energy, clean tech, environmental and corporate sustainibility organizations and not-for-profits.

"Companies will require professionals from all disciplines, be they accountants, marketing professionals, industrial management executives, business development professionals or research and development people," says Dzurilla, adding many energy and utilities jobs will be expected to come from the renewable energy sector.

"The economy and massive hiring may have slowed a little bit, but I would venture to say that’s temporary, from what many folks are telling me. Obviously that has something to do with the anticipation of the new administration and of the tax credits that will be available for renewable energy. Renewables are not just growing but they’re about to grow considerably in a big way."

Renewable energy at forefront of job creation

Indeed, California, the home of PG&E, is at the forefront of the renewable energy putsch, with a commitment to get a third of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 in a November executive order by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

California, which often leads the federal government on environmental issues, already had committed to produce 20 percent of its power from renewables such as wind and solar by 2010 as part of its plan to cut emissions of carbon that contribute to global warming.

The executive order requires state agencies to begin preparing for the change.

California's renewables mandate has sent utilities such as PG&E Corp and Edison International scrambling to add more renewable power generation, and many new solar power plants and wind farms are currently under construction.

Schwarzenegger also ordered that renewables project regulation be streamlined, for instance allowing multiple applications required for a new plant be filed at once, instead of sequentially. Again, this means more jobs for new job market entrants in the very near future.

Meanwhile, other states, and therefore other energy and utility companies, are following suite.

In Minnesota, Governor Tim Pawlenty recently announced a "Green Jobs Investment Initiative" that includes proposals for the 2009 Minnesota Legislature projected to create more than 114,000 green jobs. Programs like these across the nation promise to put renewable energy initiatives at the forefront of job creation.

Jobs in trades, nuclear pay well

Electricity Today and Electrical Source magazine editor and publisher Don Horne says many of those jobs will also be in trades.

"On the utilities end, there will be a huge need for the guys who do things like stringing the lines, electricians and electrical engineers," says Horne, who points to nuclear as another fast growing sector.

"Nuclear will be screaming for workers and trades people in particular."

Horne points out these jobs pay well, especially for grads who’ve completed just two years of post-secondary education.

"A good top flight linesman can make anywhere from $40,000 to $60,000 per year," says Horne, joking that magazine editors, whose training takes considerably longer, make about the same.