A group of students are enrolled in a new Line Worker Certificate Program on Capital’s campus in June that will lead to employment at Eversource, the region’s electric utility.
A $20,000 grant from the Eversource Foundation with additional support from the Capital Community College Foundation is providing financial aid to a first cohort in the program that prepares participants for one of the electric industry’s essential occupations.
Eversource Energy and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Locals 420 and 457, held a series of information sessions in March for a Lineworker Certificate Program and recruitment began.
The 11-week certificate program prepares students to join the Eversource work force following the program’s completion as line worker apprentices. Line workers maintain and service the electric infrastructure, meeting the energy demands of homeowners, businesses and municipalities across Connecticut.
Students develop the fundamental skills required to effectively install and maintain the Electric Distribution system. The program is being offered on Tuesday and Thursday evenings om campus amd online and on six Saturdays through August 11th. Students are earning a Lineworker Certificate with First Aid/CPR training, occupational and safety training ((OSHA10) and CDL permit test preparation. Grant funds are helping to defray the $2,400 tuition cost of the program for the first enrollees at Capital.
The certificate program is open to 18 year olds who have a high school diploma or GED with a driver’s license. Obtaining a CDL driver’s license will be required. Participants must have the ability to work at heights in nearly all weather conditions.
The line worker training at the College’s School of Workforce and Continuing Education renews a partnership with Eversource which sprung from electrical engineering and technical programs at Hartford State Technical College. Hartford State was consolidated with Capital in the early 1990s.
@ Capital Community College 
Hello!
This is a great opportunity to gain line worker experience. I applaud Eversource, the unions and Capital for its investment in the Connecticut workforce.
After receiving and reading the story, I looked again for faces that I might recognize – meaning people of color – but there were none. As a premier institution in the Capitol city, it is always best to reflect the demographic the surrounding community in my opinion.
Let’s hope that this is a step away from fully serving all eligible residents – and that outreach “knows better and does better” to help improve lives through what otherwise is can be a generational game changer for Hartford and surrounding community residents.