Building a world-class workforce is paramount to the future success of the natural gas industry. To work toward this goal, Energize West Virginia partnered with the EdVenture Group, a non-profit organization that specializes in the design, development and delivery of professional development for teachers, to assist us in engaging and motivating young people to consider careers in the industry. Teams of middle school teachers from five West Virginia counties participated in workshop training and developed 90 outstanding instructional lessons focusing on the energy industry. All the lesson plans are available for download at: www.thesolutionsite.com. Since the implementation of the lesson plans, middle school students have been enrolling in a social networking site (www.mynexthorizon.org) dedicated to increasing their awareness about energy careers. Currently, more than 1,000 middle school students are participating in the site and log in to chat with one another and industry professionals about careers in the natural gas industry.
