Empowering future lineworkers

At the Floyd D. John­son Tech­nol­o­gy Cen­ter, a high school linework­er pro­gram is empow­er­ing young adults pur­su­ing careers in util­i­ties. Don Ham­rick, a retired line­man from Duke Ener­gy, over­sees the pro­gram, using his exten­sive knowl­edge in the indus­try to pre­pare stu­dents for entry lev­el jobs. York Elec­tric has played a piv­otal role in the Util­i­ty Line Work­er pro­gram.

In 2019, York School Dis­trict and Clover School Dis­trict part­nered with Com­po­ri­um, Duke Ener­gy and York Tech­ni­cal Col­lege, receiv­ing a grant for line equip­ment and a buck­et truck. Since then, six stu­dents from each school dis­trict, total­ing 12 stu­dents each year, have joined the pro­gram, which empha­sizes prac­ti­cal skills and safe­ty in util­i­ty oper­a­tions. This year, ten stu­dents will grad­u­ate with the equiv­a­lent knowl­edge and expe­ri­ence of an appren­tice line­man.

The cur­ricu­lum is com­pre­hen­sive, cov­er­ing the oper­a­tion of line trucks, skid steers, buck­et trucks and mini exca­va­tors. Both in and out of the class­room, stu­dents expe­ri­ence the dai­ly life of a line work­er. They learn to climb util­i­ty poles, under­stand safe­ty pro­to­cols and explore var­i­ous aspects of util­i­ty work, includ­ing both over­head and under­ground main­te­nance. How­ev­er, the pro­gram extends beyond tech­ni­cal skills, incor­po­rat­ing instruc­tion on meter­ing, billing and account­ing, pro­vid­ing a holis­tic view on util­i­ty com­pa­ny oper­a­tions.

Pro­gram par­tic­i­pants assume the role of appren­tices, ensur­ing a smooth tran­si­tion to the work­force upon grad­u­a­tion. Local line­men rodeos offer stu­dents the oppor­tu­ni­ty to net­work with poten­tial employ­ers. Pro­gram alum­ni have accept­ed offers from sev­er­al util­i­ty com­pa­nies, includ­ing Williams Elec­tric Com­pa­ny, Pike Elec­tric, Duke Ener­gy and YEC. One grad­u­ate pur­sued linework in west Texas, high­light­ing the program’s broad reach and demand for skilled line­men appren­tices.

Ham­rick describes the impor­tance of con­tri­bu­tions from local com­pa­nies, stat­ing that YEC has been instru­men­tal to the program’s suc­cess.

“When I came on my first day, we had noth­ing, absolute­ly noth­ing. The co-op brought us unused trans­form­ers, insu­la­tors, mate­ri­als and poles,” he recalls.

The most recent con­tri­bu­tion, a used line truck, con­sti­tutes a cru­cial addi­tion and a tes­ta­ment to YEC’s com­mit­ment to the program’s growth. Mir­ror­ing indus­try stan­dards, the line truck promis­es a real­is­tic and valu­able expe­ri­ence for the stu­dents who will use this equip­ment every day in the field.

“I nev­er planned on teach­ing after retire­ment,” Ham­rick says, “but I’m sure glad I decid­ed to. This pro­gram has been reward­ing in so many ways for me and the stu­dents.”

by Emma Sut­ton

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Why we trim

Main­tain­ing right-of-way around pow­er lines not only helps elim­i­nate trees and branch­es that could cause an out­age, but it also helps us reach our equip­ment quick­ly to repair dam­ages and get the lights back on for mem­bers. Go to our right-of-way page for the cur­rent main­te­nance sched­ule and a map show­ing when we will be in your area. Thank you for your under­stand­ing as we make these nec­es­sary cuts and trims to keep your lights on.