Groundbreaking for New Utility Linemen Training Center
12/01/2007
Glen Campbell’s rendition of an old Jimmy Webb song made them cultural icons years ago. Few doubt their importance when the weather turns bad and electricity or phone lines are down today. But who knew the utility industry was facing a lineman worker shortage in the coming years?
Allen Anderson did.
That’s why a regional training center is being built in Pulaski County to train and encourage the growth of this highly critical and sustainable job in the utility field for years to come.
City, county and federal leaders fell in lockstep behind the South Kentucky RECC CEO on the project, sought the financing, and set to work developing the center. All of those partners gathered at a site adjacent to Valley Oak Technology Complex this week to break ground and celebrate the state’s first publicly owned training center for utility linemen.
The Kentucky Regional High Growth Training Center is being built to train current and future linemen for utility companies in this area, surrounding counties and states, Anderson told the crowd of supporters
at the event.
The center will be built on an eight-acre site and include a 48,000 square foot training center with both indoor and outdoor training areas designed to teach the skills necessary to fulfill the job of a utility lineman in the line of duty.
“The center will provide much-needed technical training for utilities in Kentucky,” Anderson said. “The graduates will be a critical resource for SKRECC because nearly 40 percent of our linemen will be eligible to retire in the next five years. It is important to have trained workers ready.”
Fifth District Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers played an integral role in acquiring the funds for the $2.5 million training facility and was on hand to congratulate all of those responsible for the project.
“I am proud to have played a part in securing federal funds for this project,” Rogers said. “Federal, state and local grants and loans come to $2.5 million. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Appalachian Regional Commission and Economic Development Administration funds are contributing over 50 percent of this project cost.”
Congressman Rogers called Anderson a visionary at the event.
“This project is three years in the making,” Rogers added. “We are ahead of the curve and meeting a critical demand in the energy sector. We didn’t wait for others to solve this national problem for us, we did it ourselves.”
Once the facility is completed in 2008, applicants will receive instruction via a curriculum donated by American Electric Power to the Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS). Somerset Community College, part of KCTCS, will oversee instruction at the center, using the curriculum.
Graduates of the program will receive an apprentice certificate approved by the Kentucky Department of Labor. They also will receive training in such fundamental tasks as climbing utility poles, making service connections, hanging wire, operating a bucket and digger truck and performing CPR, said Carol Wright, vice president of engineering & operations for Jackson Energy Cooperative, formerly of SKRECC.
“Most young people probably do not consider line work as a career option simply because of a lack of awareness, or because they don’t know where to go for training,” Wright said. “Having the training center regionally located will raise awareness of the need for lineman not only in Kentucky but in surrounding states. The training center will be an available resource pool for all utilities (electric, telephone, cable) and various contractors.” The closest publicly operated facility similar to this training center is located Georgia, she said.
Classes will be offered in four, 8-week sessions. Applicants must have a high school diploma or GED. In addition, applicants will be subject to a physical assessment due to the strenuous work involved, as well as drug and alcohol testing, because students must obtain a commercial driver’s license, which can be obtained at this facility.
Other partners in the project include: Lake Cumberland Area Development District, the Somerset/Pulaski County Industrial Development Foundation and Pulaski County Fiscal Court, and many other utility-related organizations in the state.y."
Glen Campbell’s rendition of an old Jimmy Webb song made them cultural icons years ago. Few doubt their importance when the weather turns bad and electricity or phone lines are down today. But who knew the utility industry was facing a lineman worker shortage in the coming years?