Kody Wall of Thomaston, GA, was awarded the South Georgia Technical College Foundation Chattahoochee Flint REA Electrical Lineworker Scholarship recently. SGTC President Dr. John Watford was on hand to make the presentation along with other South Georgia Technical College Officials.
Chattahoochee-Flint RESA presented the South Georgia Technical College Foundation with a donation recently to help fund student scholarships for its Electrical Lineworker program. Over 600 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 with the potential to reach six figures.
Wall was awarded the scholarship based on his work ethics, academics, and overall class performance. He thanked South Georgia Technical College, the SGTC Foundation and Chattahoochee Flint RESA for this opportunity.
“I graduated from high school in 2017 and didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do with my life,” said Wall. “After working at a manual labor job for a few years, I realized I didn’t want to do that forever. I would work 12 – 14 hours days but it was a contracting job, so we didn’t always have work. It was mentally and physically draining.
“I began researching and decided to become a lineworker. I love working outside and didn’t really see myself in an office job. Once I made up my mind, I spent everything I had to be able to come to school and become trained to be a linewoker,” said Wall. “I am grateful to South Georgia Technical College for the opportunity to take this program. The scholarship is also wonderful and will definitely help me out.”
Wall added that he feels that the SGTC Lineworker program prepared him for the career of a lifetime. “I feel that I am very prepared to enter the industry thanks to the training that I received through this program and I can’t wait until I am a gainfully employed lineworker.
South Georgia Technical College partnered with power companies, electric cooperatives and others to initiate the Electrical Lineworker Program. 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, 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.
For more information about the Electrical Lineworker program at South Georgia Technical College or to apply for the next class, contact Tami Blount at 229-931-2040 or tblount@southgatech.edu.