DeKalb Technical College Partners with Georgia Power for Career Opportunities Training
Georgia Power Company plans to divert a personnel crisis by introducing students to exciting career opportunities, and began this plan by working with DeKalb Technical College and the East Metro Education and Career Partnership (formerly the DeKalb Tech Prep Consortium) at the first annual Georgia Power Summer Educator Academy.
Economic Development professionals and educators from DeKalb Technical College and the East Metro Education and Career Partnership met recently in the classroom at the Georgia Power Klondike Training Center in Lithonia and the Rockdale Career Academy to obtain a better understanding, as well as some experience, of what employers are seeking in potential employees. Instructors are better equipped to answer students’ questions and provide students with practical insight into specific career pathways if they have experienced industry training themselves. The professionals experienced hands-on, contextual learning activities that are relevant to real world work experiences. They then had the opportunity to develop lesson plans integrating the study of math, science, social studies, language arts, and technology with real-world examples from the energy industry.
“Right now, there is a shortage of qualified people to fill entry-level jobs in the energy industry,” explains Debra Howell, Georgia Power CSO Workforce Development Manager. “We are seeking opportunities to educate young people about the exciting and rewarding careers available in our industry – particularly as line workers and engineers.”
Over the next five years, half of Georgia’s 5,000 line workers and repairers across the state will be eligible to retire leaving thousands of entry-level job openings. In addition, by the year 2030, 40 percent of the U. S. population – including nearly 4 million new Georgians – will be living in the South significantly increasing the need for energy. The demand for workers in the energy field over the next ten years far exceeds the supply. “That means incredible opportunities for young people who want a rewarding career after high school,” adds Howell.
Leah Miles, High School Dual Enrollment Coordinator for Rockdale, Newton, and Morgan counties, participated in day one activities and gained information about careers in the electric utilities industries that she can use when recruiting high school students and working with secondary students and faculty to integrate high school courses with academic offerings at DeKalb Technical College and the Electrical Line Worker Apprentice Technical Certificate of Credit. “The information I learned in this workshop will assist me greatly in describing energy industry careers and the pathways to reach those careers to high school students,” said Miles. “The relationship established with both Georgia Power and the high school faculty involved at this workshop is invaluable to my role in dual enrollment.”
Other DeKalb Technical College professionals attending the workshop were Dean of Covington Campus Operations Bill Godhes; Vice President of Economic Development Richard Smith; and Director of the Regional Transportation Center and the Electrical Lineworker Apprentice Technical Certificate of Credit Consuelo Godden. East Metro Education and Career Partnership Manager John Arrington collaborated with Georgia Power and DeKalb Technical College to develop the first annual Georgia Power Summer Educator Academy. “I specifically planned the agenda so as to put faces in front of participants to describe the various educational initiatives in a chronological sequence leading to line worker careers and how these could be made seamless for students beginning in high school through technical college and into employment,” said Arrington.
For more information on the Electrical Lineworker Apprenticeship Technical Certificate of Credit, call 678-526-7384 or go to www.dekalbtech.edu.
