Seabird College and Thompson Rivers University have partnered to offer the Power-line Technician Program.
“Students are now three months into the program,” says Active Measures co-ordinator Wendy Jimmie who assists the students.
“The students spent the first three months of the program working hard to complete prerequisites for the program,”
she says. Students had to complete Math 11, Physics 11, and either Communications 12 or English 12 in order to take part in the Power-line Technician program. “The upgrading was completed and finals were held mid-December” Wendy continues. “Now the real work begins.”
Five Seabird Island Band Members, four from other Nations and several Non-Aboriginal students are currently taking part in the program. The first day of class for the students was on January 5 at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops, B.C. Although the University was closed due to weather, the students kept busy. “Student spent time talking about attendance, conduct, and getting familiar with the campus and instructor,” says Wendy. The Power-line Technician students will be attending TRU until February 6th and then they will be doing hands-on work with their instructor February 9th – 27th.
During the hands-on portion students will be doing pole work and preparing for the Industry Training Authority (ITA) final exam. ITA oversees British Columbia’s industry skills training and certification system. Students who receive a passing grade of 70% or higher will earn a recognized Power-line Level 1
certificate from TRU.
“There’s a ton of snow here,” she says, “but students are working hard in class despite the minor challenges they were faced with at the beginning of the program”. Once finished the students will be prepared to work in the power-line industry with private companies or public entities. Students should be aware that this career may require a significant amount of travel or relocation to remote sites for a period of time in order to become established in the industry. “On January 16th
BC Hydro did a presentation to the students at TRU” says Wendy. Students were given the opportunity to hear first-hand on job demand from industry professionals and ask questions.
Submitted by:
Wendy Jimmie, Active Measures Client Advocate
Seabird Island Band
Education, Training & Social Development