The Federal Energy Management Program's Early Career Professionals Program (ECPP) is bringing together the next cohort of passionate early career professionals in the energy and water fields to support efficient and secure operations in federal agencies.
The ECPP aims to help professionals early in their energy and water careers develop a baseline of subject matter knowledge and expertise while building professional relationships to successfully carry out their federal agencies' missions related to energy and water management.
2025 Early Career Professionals Program – Cohort 2
The ECPP is excited to announce that a second cohort will be opening in Fiscal Year 2025 for those actively working in federal energy and water management, such as federal employees (all agencies eligible) or contractors.
The program will run for approximately 7 months, from February through August 2025.
The second cohort will experience monthly technical trainings and new opportunities to engage and connect with fellow cohort members. Capstone projects will be featured at Energy Exchange 2025.
Technical training for the 2025 sessions will focus on:
- Foundational knowledge.
- Energy and water audits and assessments.
- Metering and building information systems.
- Project development pathways.
- Professional development skills.
- Capstone projects.
Participation Expectations
Most trainings will be held virtually, but participants must attend the in-person session in Washington, D.C. To support this, hotel and airfare funding may be provided. There will not be funding available to cover a participant's time. Participants should confirm that their organization will support their time for trainings and travel.
At the end of the program, participants are strongly encouraged to present their capstone projects at Energy Exchange 2025 in Anaheim, California, August 5–7, 2025. Limited travel funding may be provided for this event.
For more information about ECPP trainings, please read the answers to Frequently Asked Questions.
If you have questions regarding the program or the application, please reach out to fempecpp@pnnl.gov.
2023 Early Career Professionals Program — Cohort 1
Thank you to those who participated in our program in 2023–2024. Stay tuned for ways to stay engaged and connected!
Frequently Asked Questions
FEMP considers an early career professional to be an individual who has less than 3 years of applied experience within the federal water and energy field (or broadly related experience) or who completed a degree (undergraduate, graduate, professional, doctorate) less than 3 years ago.
FEMP will prioritize federal staff to be selected for this program; however, private-sector professionals and broader stakeholders who meet the above criteria are also encouraged to apply.
Applications for cohort 2 are closed.
The program will run from February through August 2025. ECPP sessions and events include:
- A kick-off call in February.
- An in-person training in March in Washington, D.C.
- Monthly virtual meetings ranging from 60 to 90 minutes each.
Each individual will be required to present their capstone project—either virtually in July or at a poster session at Energy Exchange 2025 in Anaheim, California, in August.
Most trainings will be held virtually via Microsoft Teams.
There is one required in-person meeting in Washington, D.C., in March 2025. Participants may receive travel funding as needed to participate in this meeting.
Participants will be strongly encouraged to present their capstone projects at Energy Exchange 2025 in Anaheim, California, August 5–7, 2025. Limited travel funding may be provided.
The technical training series focuses on topics that serve as baseline information for federal energy and water managers. Key training topics may include:
- Recent federal policy.
- Energy and water fundamentals.
- Energy and water audits and assessments.
- Project implementation.
- And more.
Each week, topic experts from FEMP and the broader federal energy and water management community will share their expertise with the ECPP participants.
Unfortunately, the program is only available for U.S. citizens.
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