First lineworker class graduates at NIC Parker Center
Graduates of the first VOLTA lineworkers’ class held at the North Idaho College Parker Technical Center pose before receiving their certificates June 16. Many of the 18 graduates will now sign on with different power companies as apprentices.
(Photo courtesy TOM GREENE/North Idaho College)
Lineworker students Joel Emery, right) from Hoquiam, Wash., and Ryson Patterson, from Astoria, Ore., climb up and down poles on the Rathdrum Prairie recently as part of the 10-week VOLTA program. For this first class, many of the students were recruited from all over the Northwest, but prospective North Idaho students are encouraged to register for future classes.
Students learn the basics of lineworking on poles near to the ground first before climbing as high as 100 feet in the air. VOLTA’s lineworker program is offered three times a year.
Devin Hoover, from Astoria, Ore., practices replacing insulators on a 115KV simulated power line during lineworker class outside the NIC Parker Technical Education Center recently.
Driving sleet and rain at 3 a.m. with 70 miles-per-hour winds, thunder, lightning – Mother Nature at its worst. For nearly everyone, this is a time to burrow under a blanket and sleep until it’s over.
For lineworkers, it’s time to climb 100 feet in the air and get to work.
It’s definitely not for everyone, but for the group of 18 graduates who are the first class of Vocational Outside Line Training Academy taught at the North Idaho College Parker Technical Education Center, it’s a perfect fit.
“Keep your skills sharp,” said Terry Lowen to the class during a graduation ceremony June 16. “Remember, this isn’t just a job – it’s a career. It’s not a sprint – it’s a marathon.”
Lowen was a lineworker for 25 years, but is currently the director for the nonprofit Northwest Line Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (commonly known as NW Line JATC). VOLTA is the entry-level line school offered through NW Line JATC, which serves North Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Northern California.
NW Line JATC approached NIC Workforce Training Center last year after the only line training program in the area closed down during the pandemic with no plans to reopen. VOLTA is not an NIC program, but is the result of the college partnering with NW Line JATC to address a workforce shortage in the area. Along with supplying some equipment and personnel support, the college rents the space for VOLTA, providing classrooms and an area to erect an array of poles and other training equipment on the Rathdrum Prairie next to the Parker Center.
VOLTA Instructor Eric Schulhauser said many other partners in the community have responded as well and the program wouldn’t have happened without their vision and generosity. Kootenai Electric Cooperative donated materials and manpower to set poles and dig anchors.
“KEC’s general manager said they would help us any way they can. KEC has been out here several times. When we asked for something that we didn’t have, they would bring it out that day,” Schulhauser said.
Avista Utilities, Bonneville Power Administration, International Line Builders Inc., Safeguard Equipment Inc. and Benton PUD also contributed greatly to the program from tools and hardware to books, high-voltage equipment and poles. Lowen said the program is the product of regional companies and nonprofits recognizing a problem and cooperating to find a solution.
“The industry is growing. Older people are retiring, and there’s more need now than ever,” Lowen said. “In the past, there hasn’t been much of a push for kids to go on this track. But now there’s movement in this direction, and I’m glad to be a part of it.”
VOLTA is the first step for many electrical power-line installers and repairers. The class is competitive with employers wanting the very best from an employee who will be a huge investment over the years. The national median wage for lineworkers was $78,310 per year in May 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. VOLTA prepares students for power-line worker, power-line tree clearance and power ground positions, ensuring they are a proven commodity after graduation.
Tyler Minkoff, 19, from Chehalis, Wash., finished first in the class. He was working as a commercial fisherman in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, before deciding to enroll in the program. He swapped working around guys from the TV show “The Deadliest Catch” to climbing poles in Idaho after talking to some friends in the industry.
“I’ve got some buddies who are into it. They’re intense guys. You’ve got to be. You’ve got to stay on your toes every day, that’s for sure,” Minkoff said. “It just takes one guy to hit the wrong thing or make the wrong move and you’re both gone.”
Another graduate, 20-year-old Joel Emery, from Hoquiam, Wash., echoed the necessity of being well-trained and ready for anything.
“It definitely keeps you straight. You mess up one time and you’re dead. But I really like that it’s always different – it’s something new every day,” he said.
Emery comes from a family of loggers, but said he “figured it was time to change the family tradition.”
“This job can give you real financial freedom,” Emery said. “And once you’re a journeyman, you’re in a brotherhood.”
For more information on VOLTA’s 10-week program that is offered three times a year, visit nwlinejatc.com.
