Kalamazoo Valley Community College’s lineup of academy offerings intended to get students ready for real-world jobs is about to grow by one.
A Utility Line Worker Academy begins May 7. The 26-week-long training program provides training and certification to prepare students for high demand, high paying career opportunities as line workers.
Line workers generally begin their career as an apprentice with a starting salary range from $45,000 to $55,000 annually before overtime and benefits. While on the job, they participate in a structured apprenticeship which, over the course of four years, and leads to the opportunity to gain journeyman status.
KVCC and Consumers Energy Services will collaborate in the presentation of the new training program.
Line work is performed outdoors, workers are subjected to all types of weather and the work can be very physically demanding at times. The work requires technicians to be willing and able to work long hours and to travel at the direction of their company.
Line workers are employed by utility companies, local municipalities and firms who sub-contract with transmission line owners. They perform critical operational and maintenance services and also participate in the construction and installation of transmission lines.
The program is divided into two segments. During the first 16 weeks, trainees will meet at KVCC and master the foundational skills needed for this field of work and prepare physically for a career as a utility line worker.
Week 17 is an intense line worker orientation at the Consumer Energy Training Center in Marshall. Trainees will be required to exert extreme physical and mental strength in order to successfully complete the orientation. The final nine weeks of the training is completed at the Consumers Energy Marshall Training Center, where knowledge and skills acquired are applied to work performed on an actual job.
"The demand for highly trained line workers is expected to increase," says Lesa Strausbaugh, director of career academies at KVCC.
Writer: Kathy Jennings, Second Wave
Source: Dawn Kemp, Lesa Strausbaugh, Kalamazoo Valley Community College
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