John Downey covers the energy industry and public companies for the Charlotte Business Journal.

Ben Heitman has returned to Central Piedmont Community College to head up the school's new Center for Energy Training. 

An internal advisory group headed by Heitman will meet this week with executives for energy-related business. They will discuss the skills CPCC can teach and those the industry needs but is not finding in the region.

"We will be looking for common needs in the four groups we have identified in the energy cluster around Charlotte," Heitman says. "And we will be looking for experts in the industry we can bounce ideas off of for new training."

Heitman had been director of learning services at CPCC for five years before he retired in 2009. He is returning as the college's executive energy adviser and director of the center.
Industry partners

CPCC has gotten input already from a long list of energy companies -- ranging from the very large to the very small -- in the region as it set up the center. The college lists Siemens Energy, Shaw Power Group, Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK), Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE:PNY), solar developer 02 Energies, battery-components manufacturer Celgard, cable and hardware manufacturer ABB, Areva USA, environmental-equipment pre-processor Coalogix, Lime Energy (NASDAQ:LIME), financial firm Abundant Power, Crowder Construction and Balfour Beatty Construction among those who have worked with the school in designing the program. Read more