Cooperative Living October 2015 - 8

CO-OP EDUCATION
At Southside Virginia Community College
New Program Will Prep Students
for Careers as Power-Line Workers
V
irginia's electric cooperatives are
partnering with the state's community
college system to create a new
training program for power-line workers.
The Power-Line Worker Training
School is being organized for a spring
2016 opening at Pickett Park, adjacent
to Fort Pickett near Blackstone in Nottoway
County.
" We're still working out the details, but
at this point we expect the first class to
begin in March of 2016, " says Keith
Harkins, vice president of workforce development
and continuing education for
Southside Virginia Community College.
The school will be located at Southside's
Occupational and Technical Center
in Pickett Park. The Center is one of six
operated by Southside Virginia Community
College, which also has campuses in
Alberta and Keysville.
" We anticipate each training session
lasting between 10 and 15 weeks and we
intend to offer the program three times
each year - spring, summer and fall, "
Harkins says. " Students who successfully
complete the class will be qualified to
work as apprentice line-workers, " he adds.
Prospective students will need a high
school or GED diploma, will need to
complete an enrollment application, and
will have to pass an alcohol-and-drugscreening
test, according to Harkins. Pricing
for the course has not been finalized,
but it will be competitive with similar
training currently offered in other parts
of the country, he says.
" This intensive, industry-based, workforce
training program is designed in cooperation
with industry partners to put
people to work in a high-demand career
with excellent pay, " Harkins notes. " The
course curriculum will be from the National
Center for Construction Education
and Research and students will have the
opportunity to earn several industry-recognized,
stackable credentials. "
The program will benefit Virginia's electric
cooperatives by providing a source of
qualified power-line workers to replace in6
new
career-training opportunity.
John C. Lee, Jr., CEO of Mecklenburg
Electric Cooperative headquartered in
Chase City, and Jeffrey S. Edwards,
CEO of Southside Electric Cooperative
headquartered in Crewe, are two of the
13 Virginia electric cooperative chief
executives committed to helping develop
this school.
" Our cooperative has been working
with schools in the 18-county area we
serve, and a lot of young people have
expressed an interest in a career as a
power-line worker. The problem has
been that there are no schools in Virginia
teaching these skills, " says Edwards.
" Up until now, young people have
had to go to North Carolina, Georgia or
even out to Idaho to get this kind of
training, " adds Edwards.
" My phone has literally been ringing
off the hook with calls from young people
and their parents, " says Lee.
" Folks are asking if the co-ops can
provide an option closer to home to
teach the skills necessary to embark on
this demanding but rewarding career, "
he adds.
cumbent line technicians who retire, relocate,
or otherwise leave the business.
All 13 of Virginia's consumer-owned electric
distribution cooperatives are supporting
creation of the new school, according to
Harkins, and students from all across the
state are expected to take advantage of the
" Line work is an ideal career for
young people who enjoy the outdoors
and helping other people, " Edwards says.
" This school represents a perfect mutually
beneficial business and education
partnership. Our cooperatives benefit
from having well-trained and capable
candidates to continue their tradition of
excellent service, and the community
benefits by offering an excellent career
option for those who choose not to go
to college, " Lee adds. " It also helps keep
some of Southside Virginia's young
people at home. Mecklenburg Electric
Cooperative is very proud to be associated
with this effort and already we are
sending potential students that way. "
Prospective students interested in
learning more about the new PowerLine
Worker Training School are
invited to visit www.svcc.edu or call
(434) 292-3101. 
Cooperative Living/October 2015
http://www.svcc.edu
Cooperative Living October 2015

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