Ahead of Veterans Day and in honor of those who serve, Xcel Energy is celebrating the achievement of 15% of new hires having a military background, exceeding the company’s goal of 10%, while doubling results from two years ago.
According to Xcel Energy, the company is committed to hiring military veterans as part of its employment strategy, marking a positive trend in the wind industry.
On Friday, Xcel will honor its veterans at Veterans Day events throughout the company’s eight-state service area, including celebrations at power plants and operations service centers in Texas and New Mexico.
“We appreciate the sacrifice that our veterans and their families have made to ensure the safety and security of our nation, and we are honored that so many of these women and men are part of our workforce,” says Ben Fowke, chairman, president and CEO of Xcel Energy. “Our military veterans bring leadership, teamwork and dedication to the job – exactly the kind of skills we need to meet the energy needs of the future.”
Robert S. Munoz, a second-year apprentice lineman in Carlsbad, N.M., is one of more than 1,000 military veterans currently working at Xcel Energy across the company’s service area that stretches from the upper Midwest to New Mexico.
As part of Xcel Energy’s efforts, it recently joined Veterans in Energy, a national organization that is a recruiting network linking veterans to current job openings in the energy industry. Launched last month, Veterans in Energy is a partnership that includes energy companies nationwide, along with the U.S. Departments of Energy, Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs.
Xcel Energy works to reduce carbon emissions and deliver clean energy solutions from a variety of renewable sources.
