On May 23, the graduates of Salt Lake Community College’s lineworker pre-apprenticeship program celebrated with a skills competition at SLCC’s pole yard in Sandy. An awards ceremony and a cookout followed the rodeo.
The 22 graduating students competed in an egg race and a speed climb, as well as a hurt-man rescue.
“It was fun today – challenging myself, trying to get my best time,” said program graduate Jaren Sanderson.
Each contestant raced to the top of a pole carrying an egg in a nylon pouch. They were judged on time – and if the egg was unbroken. Students also donned gear and quickly climbed a pole to secure and lower to the ground a dummy representing an injured co-worker.
“We’ve all done this before,” said graduate David Lopez, “But it adds something to have hundreds of eyes on you.”
Sanderson, Lopez, and other graduates of the spring full-time program will now seek four-year apprenticeships to complete their training for the highly skilled linework. Once hired, the electric company will cover the cost of their training as well as their salary.
Sanderson is looking forward to the next step in his career.
“I love the hard work. I love learning something new,” Sanderson said.
Mitchell Anderson has already landed a job in Morgan, Utah. He will be commuting once a week to Salt Lake for his formal training at SLCC.
Many small municipalities train their linework apprentices through SLCC. Rocky Mountain Power has its own apprenticeship program.
Anderson appreciates the foot-in-the-door the SLCC pre-apprenticeship program offers.
“It’s a hard trade to get into,” Anderson said.
The Spanish Fork native is now looking forward to living in a small town again and immersing himself in linework training.
“There are good journeymen [in Morgan] to teach me,” Anderson said.
Many graduates of the program have already secured jobs, according to Justine Dvorchak-Rodriguez, program coordinator.
“There aren’t enough lineworkers,” she said. “I am super-excited about their career path.”
Rhett Bigelow, SLCC tech programs manager, agreed.
“Five hundred lineworkers in Utah are at or approaching retirement age,” Bigelow said.
The nature of this work isn’t for everyone. It’s hands-on and physically demanding.
“It’s different, having a belt on a rope around a pole,” said Anderson. “Not a lot of people want to do it.”
Students find positives in the program and trade to balance the hardships of the work.
“I met people from all over the state,” said Lopez. “It was fun – a good experience. People in this line of work help each other out,” he added.
Anderson cited his “close relationships with fellow students” as one of the things he enjoyed most about the program.
“I like being outside all day,” said Sanderson. “I got a great work ethic out of the program.”
SLCC is the only pre-apprentice program for lineworkers in the state. Students in this program area consistently include veterans.
The program has an 80% placement rate for its graduates and offers both full-time and part-time programs, according to department literature.
