Arkansas Advanced
Energy Foundation

Colorful spiraling abstract art with gradient hues of yellow, green, blue, and orange.

Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation promotes greater public understanding of advanced energy in Arkansas through research, public education programs, and economic and workforce development.

Workforce Development Programs

  • TheSkill Stream program, created by the Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation, aims to engage diverse participants from all communities like K–12 and university students, re-skilling, veterans, and formerly incarcerated individuals. By providing industry exposure, hands-on training, mentorship, support services, and career development opportunities, we seek to prepare participants for careers in renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy storage, advanced manufacturing, and electric vehicles.


  • The purpose of the Arkansas Advanced Energy SkillSeekers Program is to integrate talent in an equitable career pipeline for the advanced energy economy. We seek to empower all who are new to the advanced energy sector on their career paths through extensive resources, networking and opportunities for growth.

  • We host free quarterly workforce calls called SkillSync that offer Arkansas’ advanced energy employers a platform to share workforce needs and opportunities, align training and career development practices, and collaborate with training providers, government agencies, and other partners to address industry workforce challenges.

    These are sector-based and include calls for HVAC/Controls/Boilers, Energy Efficiency, and Renewable Energy.

Upcoming Workforce Development Events

  • SkillSync: Q3 Call for Renewable Energy

    7.24.25

    8 a.m.

    Virtual

    These are sector-based and include calls for HVAC/Controls/Boilers, Energy Efficiency, and Renewable Energy.

    Topics are timely and may include: Industry Career Exposure, Training Opportunities, Candidate Sourcing, Licensure/Code/IRA, Advocacy, Marketing/Awards, or Funding. 

    All are welcome and we encourage you to share the invites. Your contributions are invaluable in ensuring that our four hours per year of collaboration effectively drive progress in workforce development across the industry. If you’d like to be added to one of the sector calls, please contact April.

    RSVP

  • SkillSync: Q4 Call for Energy Efficiency

    10.14.25

    8 a.m.

    Virtual

    This call is for Energy Efficiency and contractors, including electricians, plumbers, and HVAC/Controls/Boiler technicians.

    Topics are timely and may include: Industry Career Exposure, Training Opportunities, Candidate Sourcing, Licensure/Code/IRA, Advocacy, Marketing/Awards or Funding. 

    All are welcome and we encourage you to share the invites. Your contributions are invaluable in ensuring that our four hours per year of collaboration effectively drive progress in workforce development across the industry. If you’d like to be added to one of the sector calls, please contact April.

    Email April

    RSVP

In the Works: Central Arkansas C-PACE Program

The Commercial Property Assessed Capital Expenditures (C-PACE) program is designed to finance projects centered around energy efficiency, alternative energy, building resiliency, and water conservation.

Accolades for Arkansas Advanced Energy Foundation

Jenny Sales, to Director of Workforce Development April Ambrose after applying for and receiving an advanced energy job:

“I also wanted to express my sincere gratitude for your incredible influence. Your support has profoundly impacted my confidence and my belief in myself. Your drive, dedication, and passion are truly inspiring, and I aspire to embody those qualities in my own work. Your enthusiasm is contagious, and I deeply appreciate you.”

EcoPump HVAC LLC co-owners Kelly Hollis, Jr., and Joel Pumphrey with the business’s first cohort of apprentices.

Help us change lives. Our work helps individuals jumpstart careers in the energy sector. More importantly, we help them identify their “why” and provide tools to help them find fulfilling work they are passionate about.

SkillStream is a transformative initiative designed to establish a replicable, equitable workforce development pipeline for the advanced energy industry. As an emerging sector with above-average job growth and wages, advanced energy presents significant opportunities for all populations. This project addresses the critical need for a facilitator to formalize educational and career pathways by implementing a seven-phase model in a variety of Arkansas communities.