lineman school vs jatc

[2WDKING]

i wouled like to see an article on the pros and cons of doing an apprenticeship vs lineman school article in powerlineman magazine! any comments i am in this boat myself

[T-Man]

The way I see our Apprenticship laid out compared to a line school, the line school teaches all the math and a broad section of the indusrty. They teach you to climb somewhat. They also teach skills a person could use beyond line work. When you come here we teach you the way we do line work.

Most of our new apps can't hang a service in 20 min at first but they can tell you how a substation works. . .They can't tell you what connectors are for which wire or the grip sizes. . .

well let me tell you brother we aint sending you out to build substations and power plants, we need you to grunt and grunt good and do some service work, work your way up the ladder.

Don't get me wrong line school people have a lot of talent and in most cases can climb a wee bit but they do not know how to do the work the line crews do.

Example: my partner just told me he saw some apps hanging arms at their school as a demo for the interested Utilities. . . these guys were putting the bolt with a half round washer thru the back of pole moving their belt up to hold the bolt then trying to slide the xarm on to the bolt. Maybe some of you do it that way. . .we don't, we put the bolt thru the xarm and heft the arm and bolt into the hole in one motion no monkeying around.

So while I think a utility likes the fact you spent time learning something and they prefer hiring someone with "Training" it's the gumption part were looking for. .when the rubber hits the road the apprentiship and schooling we do takes that material and makes linemen out of em. . .

Hey if I'm wrong let me know. . .I'm flexible.

T

[MI-Lineman]

The way I see our Apprenticship laid out compared to a line school, the line school teaches all the math and a broad section of the indusrty. They teach you to climb somewhat. They also teach skills a person could use beyond line work. When you come here we teach you the way we do line work.

Most of our new apps can't hang a service in 20 min at first but they can tell you how a substation works. . .They can't tell you what connectors are for which wire or the grip sizes. . .

well let me tell you brother we aint sending you out to build substations and power plants, we need you to grunt and grunt good and do some service work, work your way up the ladder.

Don't get me wrong line school people have a lot of talent and in most cases can climb a wee bit but they do not know how to do the work the line crews do.

Example: my partner just told me he saw some apps hanging arms at their school as a demo for the interested Utilities. . . these guys were putting the bolt with a half round washer thru the back of pole moving their belt up to hold the bolt then trying to slide the xarm on to the bolt. Maybe some of you do it that way. . .we don't, we put the bolt thru the xarm and heft the arm and bolt into the hole in one motion no monkeying around.

So while I think a utility likes the fact you spent time learning something and they prefer hiring someone with "Training" it's the gumption part were looking for. .when the rubber hits the road the apprentiship and schooling we do takes that material and makes linemen out of em. . .

Hey if I'm wrong let me know. . .I'm flexible.

T

Hey T-Man, you're right-on with this one! I had the PLEASURE (sarcasm) of being an "associate" (big term for teachers aid) instructor at a line school program with a local college and our company. This is just another way for the companies to save money in training! They don't have to pay a kid in climbing school, ground school, CDL, First Aid, etc, etc. Most of these kids got hired here and some struggled bad!

The class was poorly ran, underfunded, and just a big p.r. circus. But it's going to be the new standard everywhere I'm afraid!

[tramp67]

Ha! Others out there who believe the arm bolt should go in from the arm side, rather than the back of the pole! One of those many construction details that vary from one location to the next. Not only does your way make more sense in the original installation, T-man, but it sure makes replacing the arm much easier. Take the nut off the old bolt, drive it halfway through the pole, and place the new arm with the glass on it, and a new bolt on the opposite side of the pole. Drive the new bolt all the way in, the conductors rest on the new glass, and the ties keep the old arm from falling to the ground. What a concept! I'm sure you've done that trick many times, T-man, but it's pretty hard to do when someone puts the bolt in from the opposite side of the pole that the arm is on. Another benefit is the unthreaded part of the bolt is much stronger, keeping the arm from racking around as easily, which also makes driving a bent bolt all the way through the pole very difficult. Sorry, though, t-man, you can't blame that one on the schools as much as what the utilities want the schools to teach.
Personally, I think a combination of line school training followed by the NJATC apprenticeship is the way to go.

[markwho]

Nice posts guys.In my opinion you can't compare the two. The line school should just be in addition to an apprenticeship. Although you may learn quite a bit at school, they should probably still grunt for at least a year also.

[WCLR]

JATC all day over line schools. Why skip on the job training when this job has to be learned ON the job? You cant learn linework in a classroom.

[2WDKING]

i forgot to mention i am holding out for mo valley jatc i have my cdl i have been running 3 miles a day i was ranked #9 then 24 then 40 now currently 43 i have been patiently waiting and training since june 2008 i hear things will break loose mid simmer 2010, i think powerlineman magazine should do and article on this subject of schools vs jatc, just an idea

[johnciv6]

I was under the impression, people go to line school to get a leg above everyone else to actually getting in a jatc..

You guys make it sound so easy to get in.. School is pre-apprenticeship training... Not actualy apprenticeship.

[WCLR]

Just depends on where you are at. If you are waiting for something to open up at HOME, you can probably forget about it. These days its travel or not much of anything....

[Boomer gone soft]

If you desire to work for a utility, then consider line school.

Most utilities, especially munis and REA's, don't want JL. They want apes they can train themselves.

If you want to truly be a JL, go with NJATC......there is NO other way to get a COMPLETE training experience.

My 2 cents.