(HARLINGEN, Texas) – Electrical Lineworker Technology is well underway at Texas State Technical College.
The program, which began in Harlingen this semester, has seen much success at other TSTC campus locations, including in Fort Bend County.
“Students in the program have an astonishing placement rate at nearly 100 percent,” said department chair Eric Carithers.
The first group of students to take on the program in Harlingen began their journeys to becoming electrical lineworkers last week.
“We are all doing a great job of adjusting so far,” said Harlingen instructor Angel Toledo. “The first week of classes went really well. I am improving ways in which I can make the classes run smoothly for my students, and I am having a great time.”
Although classes are being taught differently now than before the pandemic, Toledo said he is doing his best to make sure that his students are learning as much as possible.
“A hybrid format is being implemented for this program,” Toledo said. “The lecture portion of the courses is being taught virtually through a Google Meet link,” he said. “Our lab sessions are face to face, with all safety protocols implemented.”
Those safety protocols include maintaining social distancing, wearing facial coverings, and following directional signs while on TSTC campuses.
Lab sessions for the program involve students using TSTC’s 100-pole outdoor lab, which was installed earlier this year.
“Students first visited the pole yard last Tuesday,” Toledo said. “They have three different lab sessions a week. They’re doing a great job.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the electrical lineworker field is projected to grow exponentially through 2028 because of population growth across the state.
To learn more about Electrical Lineworker Technology at TSTC, visit https://www.tstc.edu/programs/ElectricalLineworkerTechnology.
