The Georgia EMC Foremen and Supervisors’ Association Electrical Lineworker Scholarship was presented to Garrett Earls of Macon recently by the South Georgia Technical College Foundation. Earls was enrolled in the SGTC Electrical Lineworker Apprenticeship program.
Terry Lewis of Colquitt EMC and President of the Georgia EMC Foremen and Supervisors’ Association contacted the SGTC Foundation on behalf of the organization in 2019 to establish a scholarship for the SGTC Electrical Lineworker program.
“The South Georgia Technical College Electrical Lineworker Apprentice Program has been highly instrumental in the development of future line workers for our industry. It is hoped that this donation will be matched, to the extent possible with other funds to provide this needed workforce development training,” said Lewis.
The Georgia EMC Foremen and Supervisors’ Association is a group of leaders from the Electrical Membership Corporations of Georgia who meet several times a year and work to help the electrical line worker industry. “Our hope is that this donation will help make a difference in someone’s life that is enrolled in the South Georgia Technical College Electrical Lineworker Program,” said Don Ritchey, Sr. Vice President of Line Services for the Snapping Shoals EMC and Secretary-Treasurer of the Georgia EMC Foremen and Supervisors’ Association.
“I am beyond grateful to be a part of the Electrical Lineworker program here at South Georgia Technical College,” said Earls. “And I am very grateful for this scholarship. I was worried that I would not be able to attend because my mother decided to go back to school at age 45 to pursue a more secure career. My grandparents stepped in and agreed to pay for my school. I plan to pay them back with these scholarship funds for their kind gesture. And I am greatly looking forward to taking on the challenge and responsibility that comes with being a lineman.”
South Georgia Technical College collaborated with power companies, electric cooperatives and others to initiate the Electrical Lineworker Apprentice Program over 12 years ago. There was a need by these companies to replace or replenish retiring workers. Students in the Electrical Lineworker Apprentice program undergo training in the classroom, on an actual skills field with electrical poles and platforms, earn a Commercial Truck Driving Class B License and then participate in observation-based on-the-job training.
In the classroom, students learn about the AC/DC electrical theory, field training, occupational safety, team work, line construction theory, line clearance, rigging, transformers, basic telecommunications, and utility metering. Approximately two-thirds of the program is devoted to strenuous hands-on skills allowing students to develop a high degree of proficiency in the electrical lineworking equipment and procedures. All SGTC Electrical Lineworker students earn a CDL Class A or B license as part of the program. To be employed as an electrical lineworker, students must be able to drive the Bucket and Line trucks and trailers that carry the electrical poles.
Over 550 students have graduated from this eight-week program that has a 99% job placement rating. The median annual wage for electricians, line installers and repairers is between $50,000 and $60,000 per year.
For more information about the Electrical Lineworker program at South Georgia Technical College contact Tami Blount at 229-931-2040 or tblount@southgatech.edu.