Water + Energy Forward: TWC, Veolia Announce Workforce Partnership
On Sept. 5, The Water Council joined Veolia North America to celebrate the grand opening of its new regional office in downtown Milwaukee. But it was also a celebration of Veolia’s commitment to our Water + Energy Forward Engine (W+E Forward) and developing the water workforce in Milwaukee. At the event, Dean Amhaus, The Water Council president and CEO, and Frederic Van Heems, president and CEO of Veolia North America, signed a memorandum of understanding to launch a Water & Wastewater Workforce Center in Milwaukee to grow the local water workforce, increase the pool of diverse talent and address workforce challenges. They also agreed to collaborate to advance new water and energy technologies to support Wisconsin’s Water + Energy Forward Engine.
This is an important step for W+E Forward, a consortium of Wisconsin universities, businesses and nonprofit organizations led by The Water Council addressing water, energy and waste challenges for small and medium-sized manufacturers and utilities in Wisconsin. The Water Council and its partners received $1 million from the National Science Foundation in 2023 to develop this regional innovation engine and is now seeking a Launch Award of up to $160 million over 10 years.
Click below to read news coverage of the Sept. 5 announcement.