Windsor, VA (May 14, 2024) – Twelve students from Tidewater vocational and technical schools participated in a special hands-on lineman training session conducted by Community Electric Cooperative (CEC) earlier this month. The introduction to a “Day in the Life of a Lineman” was held to rai
se awareness about the work performed by line workers, about career opportunities and about the role that electric cooperatives play in the U.S. power sector.
The session was specially requested to accommodate interested students after CEC’s annual training event, held in late February, drew a record turnout and sparked additional interest throughout the greater Tidewater region. Students from the Virginia Beach Technical and Career Education Center took part in the four-hour interactive session.
The event gave students the chance to accompany linemen in bucket trucks, to climb poles, to witness a “live line” safety demonstration, to learn how the cooperative distributes electricity to its member-owners, and to speak with line workers face to face about the challenges, benefits and other facets of their jobs. The students interacted with CEC’s line workers, co-op President and CEO Steven A. Harmon and Career Counselor Matt Dunn from Southside Virginia Community College (SVCC), which offers a Power Line Worker Program.
It is not uncommon for attendees at the Day in the Life of Lineman session to ultimately pursue a career in the electric sector after receiving an education at SVCC and joining a contractor, cooperative or utility in the Tidewater area.
Jennifer Ailstock, the School to Work Transition Advisor at the Virginia Beach school system’s Technical and Career Education Center, said several of the eight students whom she brought said after the field trip that they plan to look into the SVCC program.
“The students were very excited and open-minded about it,” Ailstock said. “They really appreciated the hands-on learning and demonstrations from the line workers themselves. They could ask questions, and Community Electric really had a good program put together.”
“Community Electric is delighted that we could essentially reprise February’s ‘Day in the Life’ event for another group of interested young people,” Harmon said. “Our line workers will tell anyone that there is something special about the work they do, and they are fantastic ambassadors for their skilled trade and for our cooperative.”
Dunn described the education session as “outstanding,” based upon the students’ level of interest, the program’s structure, and the quality of the linemen’s presentations.
“The linemen doing the demonstrations were top notch. They had high energy, and the demonstrations were very interactive,” Dunn said. “They took extra time to take everyone up in the bucket truck, and the students got to strap on safety harnesses, put on belts and spikes, and climb a utility pole. Everyone was very engaged, and having it structured for them to do hands-on is the key. Any time that you shed light on what somebody’s job actually entails, it opens up awareness.”
The CEC line workers who shared their stories and perspectives have been with the cooperative ranging from four years to nearly two decades. Two are apprentice lineman and the others are journeymen who earned that status after years of field and classroom experience. They are (alphabetically): Rob Darden, Ryan Hewitt, Dylan Hite, Kenny McMichael, Jonathan Powell, Erik Thiede. Some of them are included in a video on the Day in the Life of a Lineman program that can be viewed on CEC’s website at: https://www.comelec.coop/community/youth-programs/day-in-the-life-of-a-lineman/.
CEC Manager of Communications Jessica Parr invited high school and vocational educators and counselors throughout Tidewater to contact her if they wish to know more about Day in the Life of a Lineman. This was the first time that students in the Virginia Beach Education Center’s two-year course on Construction, Technology and Electricity have participated in the event, and Ailstock said she “definitely” will put it on the Center’s calendar for next year.
“This is a good field trip for our seniors,” she said.
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