For the past five or six years, utilities have aggressively been recruiting and training new line workers to replenish their workforces. This is evident in the number of companies that are telling me they have larger-than-ever enrollment in their apprentice classes. Different in some ways from distribution work, transmission line workers need a special set of skills to work the large towers and high-voltage lines.

My question is: What gets new line workers started on the right track? Who better to answer this question than apprentices who have been in the field for three or four years.

Scott Schmaltz, an apprentice in Devils Lake, North Dakota, says, “Having journeymen in the classroom was really helpful with the hands-on stuff.” Schmaltz and 16 other new hires began training more than transmission line four years ago at a weeklong school offered by Western Area Power Administration in Montrose, Colorado.

Only a Starting Point

Paul Inman, another student from the class, says, “The hands-on part was the most helpful [aspect of training]. We learned the right way to rig and ground a line. Now I know what to look for when we're out in the field.”

While the classwork is important, many agree the real learning takes place in the field. “The daily work with the crew has helped me the most,” observes apprentice lineman Cain Radway of Western's Montrose field office. “The apprentice program just made sure we [apprentices] stayed on task. Mainly it was there to make sure we knew what we were doing. The program is good, but you learn 90% of the job from the people you work with.”

Part of Western's apprentice training includes lectures followed up by students visiting job sites. Casper apprentice Alex Radway says, “It was good to get hands-on experience, for example, with switching and single-line diagrams, device numbering, bus switches, line switches, ground switches, instrument transformers and clearance points. We visited Currcanti Substation — a digitally controlled substation — to perform an actual clearance and evaluate the operation of the power system apparatus. We also looked at a lot of schematics and diagrams to troubleshoot.”

He adds, “You really need to know what those devices do, because in an emergency, you might have to troubleshoot for dispatchers when the system goes down.”

Looking Back

As apprentices near completion of their training program, I asked, what do they find most helpful to them on the job? “The rotation to the different regions,” says Western's Radway. “They sent us to different work sites in California, Arizona, North Dakota — wherever there was a job to be done. That's where I learned proper rigging and grounding techniques for lifting poles and removing conductors. It gave me a chance to see how Western's different regions do things differently than we do on the job.”

Looking back, Radway recalls, “I learn from my crew every day. It works because you get to know the guys on your crew and they want to teach you something.

“The most important thing I have learned is probably to take my time and be safe on the job,” he continued. “Instead of just blowing into a job, you should take time to make sure things are done right and get it done safely. I had a hard time understanding that in the beginning. I just thought the faster you did it, the better, but now I get that it's about getting the job done safely.”

Radway also offers sound advice to apprentices: “Do all the book work to the best of your ability, listen to your crew and never shut out an idea.”

Inman, a Rapid City, South Dakota, apprentice lineman who will become a journeyman in July 2007, concludes, “Apprenticeship training is just a start. I think you will always be learning more.”