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Electrical union adapts to changes
CHAMPION
Technology continues to change for those in the electrical industry, and a local union is doing what it can to keep up and try to stay ahead.
Things have changed a lot since Eric Davis, training director for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 573 in Warren, started in the field.
In addition to codes and regulations changing every three years, there have been technology jumps that allow things to be done with lighting, heating and cooling systems that were not possible years ago, he said.
“They have to be good with technology or, if they’re not, they have to be able to learn,” Davis said.
Jack Morse, business agent for IBEW 573, said the union and the National Electrical Contractors Association partner in member training, so both parties want to make sure apprentices understand the market and know as much as they can about the newest technology.
Apprentices now receive training in solar power, wind power and how to install an electric-vehicle charging station.
It takes 36 hours of classroom training to learn how to install the electric-vehicle charging stations, Davis said.
“These stations use enough power [that] an electrician needs to calculate if a home’s existing system has enough power,” he said. “The last thing we want is for the electrical system to overload because someone didn’t do the right calculations. I don’t want someone to say their electric vehicle burned down their home.”
Outside of the training facility there is a tower to train on for work on wind turbines. The IBEW also has a mock rooftop where apprentices train to install solar panels.
“We like to give them as much experience as we can out in the field,” Davis said. “We can’t get them into every type of work environment, so we do as many types as we can here.”
The field is fairly technical compared with what people expect, said Eric Offerdahl, an apprentice with IBEW 573.
“With some of these things [such as wiring for solar or wind power] there is so much to learn it’s like an entire task upon itself,” he said.
The class has learned some of the techniques, but it would take more training to get certified in the green-energy expertise areas, Offerdahl said.
The IBEW building itself is a model to the new efficiency techniques that are being taught to future electricians. The building is wired with lights and the heating system is on computerized timers to increase efficiency. There also are both solar-power and a wind turbine at the site to reduce costs.
The training center also gets its primary heating and cooling from geothermal energy, Davis said.
The union also is preparing for an influx of jobs due to shale development, Morse said.
“There might be a few temporary jobs at the sites,” he said. “Our main work will be at the midstream plants.”
Davis said he has some concerns, though, about too many people switching to natural gas for vehicles.
“We have a lot of shale gas now. What I don’t want is for people to think everything’s solved,” he said.
There needs to be a plan for 20 or 30 years from now to operate vehicles when the shale gas runs out, Davis said.