Jobs with
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SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | SEPTEMBER 2009 | scliving.coop
With the baby boom generation eligible for retirement within the next few years, lineworkers are becoming a valuable commodity By annA POLITANO
Most electric cooperative members don’t relish the thought of seeing lineworkers near their homes. In the minds of most utility customers, bucket trucks and hard hats mean there’s a problem with their electricity, and that’s never a good thing. But when the power is out, no sight is more welcome — especially during severe weather. Utilities across the nation, including your electric cooperative, are taking measures right now to ensure that there are plenty of lineworkers to go around, in good times and bad. As older employees retire and energy demands increase, there will be job openings across the country, and cooperatives are poised to make competitive offers to anyone looking for a new career.
Opportunities ahead
Electric cooperatives are taking measures to ensure that there are plenty of lineworkers to go around.
A 2007 survey released by the Center for Energy Workforce Development (CEWD) revealed that nearly 40 percent of lineworker jobs may be open by 2012. Results of the survey indicate that 27.1 percent of lineworkers are eligible to retire in five years, and an additional 13.7 percent will potentially leave for other jobs. That amounts to an estimated 30,000 lineworker positions that may need to be filled industry-wide. According to the report, the aging U.S. workforce presents a significant challenge to the energy industry. The prospect of losing roughly half of its skilled workforce looms at a time of growing demand for electricity — coupled with a growing population and economy. The CEWD report explains that in order to keep up with demand, energy providers will build new power plants as well as new transmission and distribution
systems. To bring these projects to fruition, an even larger amount of workers will be needed. Electric cooperatives are in a better position to face these challenges than investor-owned utilities (IOUs), according to Russell Turner, director of principal human-capital issues with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. NRECA reports that 36 percent of electric cooperative lineworkers are under age 37, while the IOUs surveyed said only 30 percent of their workforce fell in that category. Turner believes this makes electric cooperatives fertile recruiting grounds for IOUs. “What cooperatives need to work on is retention, retention and retention,” Turner said. “We need to make sure cooperatives remain the best place to work in the community.” The Electric Cooperatives of South Carolina (ECSC), the state association of member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperatives, is prepared to face the workforce shortage head-on, says Scott Bryant, vice president of loss control for ECSC. “We are training our employees and making sure they have the best benefits, education, wages and working environment,” Bryant says. “We’re working in a proactive way to make sure we have happy employees.” Bryant directs training and education for 18 cooperatives across the state. ECSC offers in-house opportunities for cooperative employees to earn training regarded as the best in the electric utility industry. Because lineworkers have to master a number of job-specific skills in order to work safely and effectively,
scliving.coop | SEPTEMBER 2009 | SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING
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South Carolina’s electric cooperatives offer programs that prepare cooperative employees at a special training facility outside Columbia.
training and education are key. Luckily, cooperatives across the nation, as well as a number of colleges and technical schools, are offering programs that prepare students for the challenges that come with such a “powerful” job.
Power programs Most institutions that provide lineworker training offer certificate programs that can be completed in a few months, diploma programs, or associate’s degree programs. At South Carolina’s York Tech in Rock Hill, (803) 327-8000, students enrolled in the entry-level lineworker certificate program receive training in the classroom and lab as well as field instruction in pole climbing, and overhead and underground line installation. Students are assessed throughout the training in handson skill performance, relevant subject area knowledge and safety compliance. Students receive training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, firstaid and other safety matters such as pole-top rescue, truck operator safety, work zone, and trenching. Employees of York and Lynches River electric cooperatives, as well as other local utilities, help guide York 18
Tech’s program by serving as advisory board members. The training program consists of three parts. They are underground line installation, pre-certification entry lineworker and overhead line installation. Total tuition for the nineweek program is $5,500. With pricing that is more affordable than four years of college and a time frame that is far shorter, there’s a demand for the certificate program, according to Ken Strickland, program manager at York Tech. However, just because the program is appealing doesn’t mean it’s easy. The program requires rigorous mental and physical efforts. Line work is a demanding profession, and students are expected to treat the program like they would an employer. It’s an unusual job, and it takes special people. Other relatively close training opportunities exist in Clarkesville, Georgia, where North Georgia Technical College, (706) 754-7700, northgatech.edu, offers an electrical lineworker apprentice certificate. Lineworkers have also been hired by South Carolina’s electric cooperatives after completing training at the Southeast Training Center, (706) 657-3792, lineworker.com, a private training school in Trenton, Georgia, that prepares people to enter the electric utility industry. “Once our member cooperatives have hired a person interested in a line-working career, with or without the pre-apprentice training mentioned above, they send them to ECSC Apprentice training,” says Don Harbuck, loss control director for ECSC. “The training program is taught using a combination of theory-based training using Northwest Lineman
SOUTH CAROLINA LIVING | SEPTEMBER 2009 | scliving.coop
College material, and an extensive onthe-job training manual along with classroom training at the cooperatives’ training center outside Columbia. “Our program has been approved for certification by the Department of Labor. A further testament to the success and thoroughness of our training is that we were asked to partner with the Northwest Lineman College in the application of a grant to modernize training standards for apprentice lineworkers,” Harbuck says.
Training resources ff
York Tech: Rock Hill, (803) 327-8000, yorktech.com
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North Georgia Technical College: Clarkesville, Georgia, (706) 754-7700, northgatech.edu
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Southeast Training Center: Trenton, Georgia, (706) 657-3792, lineworker.com
With campuses in California and Idaho, Northwest Lineman College, lineman.edu, is regarded in the utility industry as a benchmark provider of lineman training, he notes. “ECSC and Northwest Lineman College are industry leaders in the development and delivery of apprentice lineworker curriculum,” says Mike Couick, CEO of ECSC. To find a cooperative near you, visit the Web site of the state association of electric cooperatives at ecsc.org. If you are, or know someone who is, interested in becoming a lineworker, then your local cooperative can help you find the best educational programs available.
is a professional writer who specializes in energy.
Anna Politano