Back in November of 2023, the USOLN board gathered for a two-day strategy session with the goal of determining how the USOLN should best adapt and change in ways that will help it achieve its mission of advancing safety throughout the utility industry.

What came out of that two-day session was a lot of insightful discussion about how the USOLN needs to do more to help propel the careers of its members. The organization has worked very hard for many years to continuously refine and grow the CUSP credential—from adding new endorsements that appealed to a greater scope of safety professionals to advancing technology to improve the ease and convenience of becoming a CUSP.

And those efforts have helped the USOLN grow its industry-defining credential in ways that were never envisioned when it first launched back in 2009. In fact, as recently as January of 2024, the USOLN launched an all new on-demand exam system that lets anybody take an exam on the day and at the time they want throughout the year.

Add to that our ongoing efforts to provide a water utility-specific endorsement to the industry and it’s pretty safe to say the USOLN is really continuing to strengthen the CUSP as the defining benchmark in utility safety.

But as we talked about how to best serve the industry in our strategy session, it became apparent that we need to do more to propel the evolution of safety in the utility industry by empowering USOLN members with more resources that help them grow their careers and knowledge.

We have begun these efforts by making ambitious expansions to the amount of benefits that members get when they join the USOLN. And, even better, we managed to add a ton of value to your membership without a substantial increase to the membership fee. So, let’s take a look at all of the changes and how they are going to be great resources for you to tap into as you continue your journey of utility safety career growth:

• Complimentary registration to 3 webinars that provide insights and new perspectives on difficult safety challenges. These webinars will help provide you with career advancement strategies and information to help you grow your career. Whether it’s resume writing tips or interview strategies or how to effectively grow into a promotion or how to have difficult conversations with co-workers, these empowering learning events will help you make the next step in your career! And, you’ll earn up to 3 CUSP points by attending these events!
• 3 free online USOLN Safety Forum events where you can connect with your industry peers and share ideas, solutions and insights about utility safety challenges. In these one-hour roundtable sessions, you’ll get to connect with other USOLN members to “talk shop” and either share ideas or solutions with your fellow utility safety professionals or get guidance and advice from others.
• Complimentary subscription to POWER UP, a members-only e-newsletter that gives you exclusive access to insightful articles, white papers, job boards, news and industry studies. This quarterly e-newsletter will give members access to the career-growing insights, information and guidance they need to grow their careers.
• Access to our members-only “Ask a Utility Safety Expert” page where you can post your safety questions and get responses back from leading industry minds. Got a utility safety challenge but lack the guidance and advice to move toward a solution? If so, you can send your questions via our “Ask a Utility Safety Expert” form and you’ll be connected with a professional who can help steer your solutions in the right direction.
• Members-only access to the USOLN Members page on LinkedIn where you meet and connect with other utility safety professionals and share ideas and insights about safety challenges, your career and more! Get exclusive access to this page where you can interact with your peers, share knowledge, get answers and more!
• Exclusive discounts to CUSP points-earning education and training offered by third-party training partners. The USOLN has partnered with Columbia Southern University to provide you with exclusive discounts on their safety-related courses. In the coming year, we will expand our partnerships to offer you even more opportunities for educational course discounts!
• 25 percent discount at the USOLN shop. With your members-only promo code, you get a 25% discount on all gear bought at the USOLN shop!
• Members-only access to our industry benchmark study report. Later in 2024, the USOLN will conduct its first every industry benchmark study to learn more about the trends and goals of utility safety professionals from across the nation. You will get exclusive access to the final benchmark study results where you will get glimpses into where the industry is today and where it is heading tomorrow.
• As has always been offered, USOLN members who decide to pursue the CUSP credential will get discounts on the exam fee, application fee and prep course! USOLN members get $124 discount off of the CUSP Exam fee, a $20 discount on the application fee and $200 off the optional CUSP Prep course
• Save $150 off of an iP Utility Safety Conference & Expo registration. The $150 conference discounts continues under this new membership, meaning you can save on attending the industry’s biggest utility safety conference!

We are so excited to be able to expand the benefits of the USOLN membership in ways that will help you continue to grow your career as a utility safety professional! And, best of all, if you already have a membership, you get all these benefits at no additional charge all the way up to the expiration of your membership. When you renew your membership, you will see we have only increased the price from $155 to $175.

Got questions? Want to suggest topics for future webinars or USOLN Safety Forums? Don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly at curtis@utilitybusinessmedia.com.