Workers Increase Skills Through Career Development Programs

Municipal power line workers can increase their skills and knowledge by enrolling in voluntary training programs approved by the North Carolina Department of Labor.

ElectriCities, which has scheduled a full list of training courses in 2020, also offers Career Development Programs (CDP)  to its members to teach them how to install, repair and maintain electric systems. In addition, in the more advanced levels, they will gain supervisory experience and knowledge of complex electric operations. 

Here are the CDP courses offered by ElectriCities:

• Overhead 
  This program, which offers a mixture of classroom and on-the-job training, is divided into four levels, which each take about one year to complete. 
• Underground 
  This voluntary program, which also consists of four levels of training, teaches underground power line technicians to install, repair and maintain electric systems. 
• Meter Technician 
  This program is open to meter technicians of all experience levels, and it teaches students how to install, repair and maintain customer watt-hour meters. They also gain an understanding of the basics of math as it relates to electricity and gain an overall knowledge of complex polyphase metering. 
• Substation 
  This program is a way for municipal substation technicians to increase their skills and knowledge during four levels of training. 

For more information, call Jill LaBorde, senior safety and training technician, at 919-760-6301 or David Young, manager, safety and training, at 919-760-6336.