(Okatie, SC – February 14, 2022) – Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority (BJWSA) was among the winners of the 2022 National Environmental Achievement Awards (NEAA) honored last week at the National Association of Clean Water Agencies’ (NACWA) Winter Conference, held in Scottsdale, Arizona. Chief of Customer Care Linda Tillery accepted the award.
The NEAA Program recognizes individuals and NACWA-member public clean water utilities that have made outstanding contributions to environmental protection, their communities, ratepayers and the water sector. NACWA is the only organization to offer national awards of this type to the municipal clean water sector. BJWSA was recognized in the category of Workforce Development for its inaugural internship program.
Collaborating with the Career and Technical Education (CTE) offices for both Beaufort and Jasper County school districts, BJWSA was able to identify four candidates for 15-week paid internships. Hiring recent high school graduates met both the needs of the emerging workforce as well as BJWSA, with three of the four being hired. Four more interns are currently in the second-year program, which began in January.
Tillery, who oversees the departments in which the interns now work, sums up the benefits for both BJWSA and students, “I think that the internship program is wonderful and provides a win-win for all parties. Those students who are not heading off to college have an opportunity to begin a career with a great company that provides stable benefits and pay. BJWSA gets employees that are junior, motivated with fresh perspectives and a potential ‘pipeline’ for the future.”
For more information about BJWSA’s intern program, go to www.bjwsa.org/intern-program/.
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