Energy Department Announces Over $11 Million to Expand America’s Energy Workforce

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office and Office of Indian Energy today announced up to $11.3 million in federal funding available to institutions of higher education, including up to $2.3 million exclusively for Tribal Colleges and Universities, to train the next generation of America’s energy workforce. The Partnerships for Academic-Industry Career Training (PACT) Initiative will facilitate the development of hands-on training and credentialling programs in skillsets supporting the production of natural gas, oil, coal, and geothermal energy by establishing regional academic-industry consortia. These efforts support President Trump’s commitment to establish America’s energy dominance by developing a highly skilled workforce focused on strengthening U.S. energy resilience and supplies.

“Ensuring a reliable, affordable, safe energy future demands robust partnerships between academia and industry to educate and empower America’s next generation of energy workers,” said Kyle Haustveit, Assistant Secretary of Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy. “Through the PACT Initiative, the Department of Energy is investing in targeted programs that will help meet the workforce needs of energy communities across the country, fortifying both our economic landscape and national energy security.”

“An important element of America’s energy dominance is a highly skilled workforce,” said Eric Mahroum, Director of the Office of Indian Energy. “The PACT initiative provides opportunities to grow the pipeline for the next generation of Tribal energy leaders through dedicated support for Tribal Colleges and Universities.” 

Regional consortia established through the PACT Initiative will be made up of academic institutions (e.g., vocational schools, trade schools, technical colleges, community colleges, Tribal colleges, universities), industry employers, and workforce development entities. Each awarded consortium will develop hands-on training and credentialling programs for occupations that address a regional need for workforce in one or more of the following technology areas: 

• Integration, safe use, and maintenance of oil, natural gas, coal, and geothermal energy technologies
• Using carbon dioxide to improve hydrocarbon recovery
• Produced water treatment and disposal 
• Power generation for data centers or remote operations
• Technologies that enable any of the above technology areas, including but not limited to:
  • Construction related to the building-out of facilities or infrastructure
  • Applying and using artificial intelligence and machine learning
  • Geographic information systems

The PACT Initiative is managed by TechWerx in partnership with DOE, a collaboration made possible through an innovative Partnership Intermediary Agreement established by the DOE's Office of Technology Commercialization. This agreement enables TechWerx to broaden DOE’s engagement with innovative organizations and non-traditional partners, facilitating the rapid development, scaling, and deployment of energy solutions.

Visit the TechWerx website for more information. TechWerx and DOE will host an informational webinar on May 13, 2026 and two office hour sessions on June 3, 2026 and July 9, 2026 (all events 3-4 pm ET). Subsequent updates and announcements for the PACT initiative will be posted on the TechWerx website. Questions about the initiative can be submitted to info@techwerx.org.