Public Power - September/October 2007 - (Page 24)

Training Tomorrow’s Work Force couldn’t keep up with the phone calls,” said the college’s Aguilar. The first class was full of students and the second, third and fourth have been the same. Student interest in power has been so high that the department recently added a second sister program to the Power Technology Program, called Renewable Energy Technology. Its popularity seems to be just as high. Aguilar continues to get phone calls from students and other community colleges seeking more information about the program. With this program, the community college is doing what it is meant to do, said Aguilar. “We are here to train people for jobs in the community’s work force. We can’t just create programs for the sake of it. We create programs because there is a true need and a job at the end for the graduate.” Shaping the curriculum—Together, the utility and community college must develop a curriculum that meets the needs of both. But for what kind of program? An associate’s degree or a certificate program? When Austin Energy and Austin Community College faced this question, they agreed that the college would offer both. Producing curricula for the programs took about a year, and included staff from a number of utilities. Among those providing input were two trainers at Austin Energy, one in power production and one in power distribution. They felt that much of the necessary training was provided by existing classes, and suggested creating just four new courses. At Imperial Valley College in California, curriculum development was a complex and involved process that took about 20 months to complete, said Gonzalo Huerta, dean of instruction for applied sciences. “But thanks to the Imperial Irrigation District, this effort is seen as something of a record from start to finish.” IID Energy was represented on the joint curriculum committee, together with the college, three bargaining units and the state Division of Apprenticeship Standards. All committee members are journeymen in the trade for which a curriculum is developed, said IID Energy’s Johnson. “That keeps us current.” Some curricula are constantly changing— 24 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2007 in such program areas as relay technician and SCADA/telecommunications technician—because of digital meters, automatic reading meters and wireless technology. Wisconsin has a statewide apprenticeship program for lineworkers that is offered through two technical colleges and supported by most of the state’s utilities. agers and executives previewed the courses for designers at Bismarck State College. “They evaluated each course based on how relevant it was to the work we do, on the kind of knowledge we needed for the job,” said SRP’s Hull. “It was great to have management involved in selecting the courses. With the help of Student interest in power has been so high that the department recently added a second sister program to the Power Technology Program, called Renewable Energy Technology. Participants attend classes at Moraine Park Technical College for the first two years, and Chippewa Valley Technical College for the third and fourth years. A state committee—composed mainly of utility personnel—oversees curriculum development for the program. “Everyone is on the same wavelength when it comes to the curriculum,” said Randy Larson, apprenticeship lineworker instructor at Chippewa Valley Technical College. In Iowa, Cedar Falls Utilities and Hawkeye Community College found that the utility’s need for control room operators dovetailed nicely with the college’s technology program. “The college already had the resources to train operators,” said CFU’s Krieg. And in Nebraska, an NPPD employee sits on the Southeast Community College board. “He works with the professors to develop programs and training that propel students toward the utility industry,” said Laurie Schilling, NPPD’s human resources manager. Putting together a curriculum for an online program also requires utility involvement. In Danville, Va., the utilities department reviewed the power line technology syllabus at Bismarck State College, said the city’s Wells. Danville then put together a six-year program for engineers that alternated between coursework and on-the-job training. At Salt River Project, numerous manBismarck, we put together a 10-course certificate program—the multi-skilled designer training program.” The online curriculum at Bismarck State College was designed and developed through the EPCE program, with multiple utilities across the country contributing. Utilities are creative in how they use the courses, said Devon Sheldon, director of the Energy Providers Coalition for Education. “They are taking a set of courses and using them for a training program or a career pathway.” Program snapshot—Apprenticeship programs are popular across the country. River Falls Municipal Utilities participates in Wisconsin’s program. Anyone hired to be an entry-level lineworker is placed in the program. “When we advertised for the program, we had more than 100 applications,” said Charles Beranek, the utility’s electric operations superintendent. Each apprentice has four one-week sessions of training annually for four years. “We are training to provide theory and technical training initially,” said Chippewa Valley Technical College’s Larson. “Then we get into the field and work with them hands-on.” Utilities participating in the program are required by the state to pay apprentices’ salary and benefits. Many utilities also provide equipment and material for the program. And many, like River Falls Municipal Utilities, pay for tuition, hotels, meals and textbooks. PUBLIC POWER

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - September/October 2007

Contents Washington Focus 10 Questions Public Power (Every) Week Training Tomorrow’s Work Force What’s in Your Wallet? U.S. Lags in Broadband Deployment Now What? For Engineers Safety Community Broadband For Governing Boards Human Resources Hometown Connections Customer Service DEED Index to Advertisers Advertisers by Category Parting Shot

Public Power - September/October 2007

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