(ABILENE, Texas) – When the fall semester begins at Texas State Technical College’s Industrial Technology Center in Abilene, people will see something new.
TSTC’s Electrical Lineworker and Management Technology program will welcome its first class in West Texas, and students will start climbing practice utility poles within weeks of the semester beginning.
The program will be taught by instructors with a combined 44 years of experience in the electrical lineworker industry.
Kyle Casey, who has been in the industry for 11 years, and Larry Leger, a 33-year journeyman lineman, will train students in more than just climbing.
“When they complete our program, they will know how to climb and, more importantly, what to do with the tools once they are at the top of the pole,” Leger said.
Casey said the instructors have a second goal for the program in Abilene.
“I want industry officials to spread the word that TSTC is the place to hire well-trained lineworkers,” he said.
Students will learn how to build, maintain and troubleshoot overhead and underground distribution systems and perform electrical circuit analysis during the 20-month Associate of Applied Science degree program. A one-year certificate program will also be offered at the Abilene location.
“We will start by teaching the basic skills,” Casey said.
Leger said teaching will focus on safety.
“When you are out in the field, a lot of things can happen,” he said. “We want the students to be prepared for those situations.”
The two instructors will soon visit their colleagues at TSTC’s Marshall location in preparation for the fall semester.
“We want to pick the brains of the instructors to see what they do in the classroom and the pole yard,” Casey said.
Both men have similar reasons for putting their journeyman careers aside to become instructors.
“The physical aspect of the job is hard on this old guy,” Leger said. “It is time for the next generation to learn the trade.”
“This will be my opportunity to teach people the correct way to climb and work at the top of the pole,” Casey said.
According to onetonline.org, electrical power-line installers and repairers in Texas can earn a median salary of $72,510 a year. The website projected that there would be a 24% increase in the number of such jobs in the state from 2020 to 2030.
TSTC offers an Associate of Applied Science degree and a certificate of completion in Electrical Lineworker and Management Technology at the Abilene, Fort Bend County, Harlingen, Marshall and Waco campuses. The program is one of nine Money-Back Guarantee programs in which tuition is refunded if a participating graduate has not found employment in their field of study within six months of graduation.
Registration for TSTC’s fall semester is underway. Learn more at tstc.edu.
