Powering up students' job prospects

[CPOPE]

Students are facing a tough job market at the same time as public utilities are bracing for a wave of retirements. In Los Angeles, schools and industry are working to make a match.

The economic climate has been more than a little funky. This week, we learned the unemployment rate has reached a four-year high of 5.7 percent.

But even in places where local governments are declaring bankruptcy, public utilities are supplying more than water and power. They're also providing jobs.

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/d...lace_shortages

[Ski_Digger]

I have seen the right ups in the elect. mags about shortage of lineman. Also how companys are trying to get more lineman outthere.
But when are they going to hire these guys and gals? Maybe after the seasoned vet. puts in his two week notice.
We have alot of people on the books looking for work and alot of people that get hired out of school for summer jobs and then they get let go. The worst part if the crew gets a good one, they are never brought back the next year. Then we get to re-train another one.
There we go do more Less. We lost some good full time guys and here we sit. Pretty soon the retirement thing is going to kick in and we are going to have alot of crews with new guy that don't now anything and no time on the job.
Don't now what to tell ya, or what to do.
Ski

[T-Man]

Old school you hired on and someone took you under his wing and walked you thru everything you needed to know. There were enough eyes on the job that could make sure you didn't get in trouble. Pretty soon uyou were doing the same for the guys you trained. We all got better as we went along.
Now in this high tech computer age where everyboby wants it fixed right now. we get kids schooled in transmission, and substation construction, They learn all the math and are given a deploma, yea they cam hike but what for? once they get up there they are lost. .then they show up on a crew and are expected by the management to get r done. We put them to work putting up basic services which is beneath them and they casually go about something they were never taught except by their imediate crew and have an an accident. Then the "New managemnent" wants to know where they were trained to do that and who trained them to do that and the young one says nobody told me. . .
The crews are smaller and everybody is busting ass to get the work done or else. No more time to watch each other. Rush, rush and Swamp your right the brains are not up to it yet. . . across the board.

[MI-Lineman]

Old school you hired on and someone took you under his wing and walked you thru everything you needed to know. There were enough eyes on the job that could make sure you didn't get in trouble. Pretty soon uyou were doing the same for the guys you trained. We all got better as we went along.
Now in this high tech computer age where everyboby wants it fixed right now. we get kids schooled in transmission, and substation construction, They learn all the math and are given a deploma, yea they cam hike but what for? once they get up there they are lost. .then they show up on a crew and are expected by the management to get r done. We put them to work putting up basic services which is beneath them and they casually go about something they were never taught except by their imediate crew and have an an accident. Then the "New managemnent" wants to know where they were trained to do that and who trained them to do that and the young one says nobody told me. . .
The crews are smaller and everybody is busting ass to get the work done or else. No more time to watch each other. Rush, rush and Swamp your right the brains are not up to it yet. . . across the board.

Not to mention, but apps use to be kids who had other jobs in their short history and know what work is and how to tie a pair of work boots! We got a kid who never had a real job before school and now is struggling bad!