Georgia Power area manager Brent Edwards hands over the keys to a bucket truck to NGTC President Dr. Mark Ivester during a presentation at the college on Sept. 25, 2019. (Daniel Purcell/Now Habersham)
Georgia Power recently donated a bucket truck to North Georgia Technical College in Clarkesville. The truck will be used to help train students in the college’s Electrical Lineworker Apprentice Program.
Georgia Power Northeast Region area manager Brent Edwards handed over the keys to the truck to NGTC President Dr. Mark Ivester on Sept. 25 during a presentation on the Clarkesville campus. They were joined by students in the ELA program and a host of Georgia Power and school representatives.
The ELA program provides students with the necessary knowledge and skills to gain employment as an entry-level lineworker with electrical companies. The bucket truck will be used to teach them how to operate aerial devices. “NGTC will be able to provide students with better and more meaningful real-world training due to the donation of this truck. For instance, it has many modern features such as capabilities to use hydraulic tools,” says NGTC program instructor for electrical line Rob Roland.
North Georgia Tech opened its lineworker training program in 2006. Currently, 24 students are enrolled. The school has on-campus training grounds which include a 13 count climbing-pole field, laboratory, and classroom on the Clarkesville campus.
The ELA program takes eight weeks to complete and is in high demand. NGTC is one of only four technical colleges in the state that offer electrical line training.
“The electrical line program typically has a waitlist for students entering the program because the demand is so high,” explains NGTC Vice President of Community and College Relations Amy Hulsey. “We have a 99% job placement rate for our graduates, so it is a very popular program.” And for good reason. The salary range for lineworkers, according to Hulsey, is between $71,590 and $78,590 a year.
