The Federal Energy Management Program's Early Career Professionals Program (ECPP) brings together passionate early career professionals in the energy and water fields to support efficient and secure operations in federal agencies.
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.
2026 Early Career Professionals Program – Cohort 3
Applications are open! Apply now through December 10, 2025.
FEMP is excited to announce that a third cohort will be opening in FY 2026 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 6 months, from March to August 2026. Applications will be accepted now through December 10, 2025.
The third cohort will attend monthly technical trainings with opportunities to engage and connect with fellow cohort members. Capstone projects will be featured at an August FEMP training event.
Technical training for the 2026 sessions will focus on:
- Energy and water fundamentals
- Energy and water assessments
- Project development pathways
- Professional development skills
- Capstone projects.
Participation Expectations
Most of the trainings will be virtual, but the cohort will kick-off with an in-person training in Washington, D.C., in March 2026 (with limited hotel and airfare funding provided to those who need travel support). There will not be funding available to cover participants’ time. Participants should confirm that their organization is supportive of their time for training sessions and travel. We recommend that any federal employees enter this program commitment as a part of their formal individual training plans.
At the end of the program, participants are strongly encouraged to present their capstone projects at a FEMP training event in early August 2026. A virtual capstone presentation will also be an available option.
For more information about ECPP trainings, please read Frequently Asked Questions.
If you have questions regarding the program or the application, please reach out to fempecpp@pnnl.gov.
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 prioritizes 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.
Applicants can fill out a brief online application form (approximately 30 minutes) to be considered for selection. If you are unable to access Microsoft Forms, please email fempecpp@pnnl.gov for a fillable form PDF application.
Once cohort selections are made, the program runs for several months, and trainings are held monthly. Cohort members are required to present a capstone project, which can be done virtually or in-person at a future FEMP event.
Most trainings are provided virtually via Microsoft Teams.
There may be required in-person meetings for the initial kickoff of the program and if a member chooses to present their capstone in-person at a future FEMP event.
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.
Topic experts from FEMP and the broader federal energy and water management community share their expertise with the ECPP participants.
Unfortunately, the program is only available for U.S. citizens.
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