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Utility line worker program offered at Kent Trumbull
Utility-line worker program to be offered at Kent State
Champion
Seeing the world from 55 feet high in the air from a truck is part of utility-line worker’s perspective.
It’s an opportunity a person can experience at Kent State University at Trumbull, 4314 Mahoning Ave. NW, through the Power Systems Institute.
The two-year program is a partnership between the university and Akron-based Ohio Edison, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., with the purpose of training the next generation of utility-line workers.
“Our line workers are really some of the important jobs in our industry,” said Randall Frame, regional president of Ohio Edison.
The PSI program started in 2000 as a way to help replace retiring line workers and was established at many colleges throughout FirstEnergy’s six-state service areas. Because of the economic downturn, many line workers put a hold on retirement, Frame said.
Therefore, most of the programs were placed on hold in 2011. FirstEnergy re-evaluated its future workforce needs, however, and decided to reinstate the program, Frame said.
Students will spend half their time taking technical coursework at the university while receiving hands-on utility experience at OE’s Warren service shop, 2231 W. Market St.
During the summer between the first and second year of the program, students would take an internship at the service shop, said Mark Durbin, manager of communications for FirstEnergy. Students would graduate with an applied science degree with a focus in electrical engineering technology.
Wanda Thomas, interim dean at the university, said there’s a constant issue with high unemployment despite jobs going unfilled due to a skills gap in the workforce.
“This [program] has tremendous impact on the economy,” she said.
The median annual pay for a utility-line worker in 2012 was $58,210, or $27.99 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The program has provided Ohio Edison with nearly 320 employees, including Brandon Bernhard, who went through the program from 2006 to 2008. Bernhard said he took the program when it was offered at Youngstown State University, switching from his engineering degree. As a line worker, he said safety is a top priority since electricity is something that can’t be smelled, heard or seen.
“The only time you see it is when something went bad,” he said.
Utility-line workers receive a variety of safety equipment, which they check and update often before going out into the field.
Additionally, the program also is offered at three other Ohio colleges: Owens Community College in Toledo, Stark State College in North Canton and Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland.
“It’s a model partnership between public and private entities,” said Donald Ball, dean of engineering technologies and information technologies at Stark State. Ball said “there was always a wait list” when they had the program for 10 years until it ceased in 2011.
FirstEnergy is targeting a 2015 class enrollment with 20 spots available.
“It’s going to be very competitive,” Frame said.