How to Become a Power Lineman
The role of an apprentice power lineman is to assist in building and maintaining electrical power systems. Northwest Lineman College’s apprenticeship training with lineman tools is a popular training program.
The apprenticeship program at Northwest Line JATC combines supervised, structured on-the-job training with related classroom instruction. Their goal is to prepare you for skilled employment within the industry.
In this article, we’ll review the steps to complete the training for a rewarding career as a power lineman.
Step 1: Review Your Qualifications
Being a journeyman lineman isn’t for everyone. Although the job pays well and provides excellent benefits, a lineman often has to work outside in unfriendly weather conditions and climb high poles. It’s not for anyone afraid of heights.
The job involves physically and mentally demanding work. The job can also require a fair amount of travel, which can mean many nights away from home.
Step 2: Complete the Power Lineman Application Process
To apply for the apprenticeship program, you must meet some basic qualifications:
- You must be at least 18 years old
- High school diploma or GED
- A passing grade of “C” or better in Algebra
- Class A CDL (Commercial Drivers License)
Although you are not required to have any previous experience with highline tools, any experience or training may allow you to take an accelerated path in our program. Submitting your documentation and your application will allow us to assess where to place you based on your previous work experience or vocational training.
Create a new account under the “Services” tab if you are a first-time applicant. If you have applied before, use the “Forgot Password” feature to access your online account.
Looking for high-quality highline tools? Read our product guide for utility workers.
Step 3: Schedule Your Interview
Once your application is complete, you will need to attend a mandatory orientation that covers the life of an apprentice and journeyman lineman. After attending, you will interview at the JATC office. You will interview the Committee (made up of line contractors and members of the local unions), who will score you based on everything they’ve learned about your background, attitude, and interests.
Step 4: Interviews and the Power Lineman Rank List
Your scores from the interview will form an average. That average places you on the ranking list with all previous applicants who have yet to start the program. So, if you score high, you’ll move right to the top of the list regardless of how long other applicants have been waiting. Applicants that interview in the next cycle reach the same list in the same manner. Your name will leave the list after two years if you don’t have indentured status.
Step 5: Safety Orientation and First Dispatch
Top applicants enter Safety Orientation before your first dispatch. Safety Orientation is mandatory and covers various topics, including proper tool safety, American wrench applications, and the responsibilities of an apprentice. When a contractor needs an apprentice, they call the JATC office. If your name is at the top of the list, you’ll receive a dispatch call with all the information you need to get started.
You are now officially an apprentice lineman. Congratulations!
Step 6: Field Training and Classroom Instruction
After orientation, you’ll join a crew of linemen to gain valuable hands-on training in the field. Each fall, you will resume regular classroom instruction in tool maintenance, electrical theory, circuitry, transformer connections, and more.
Completing the training instruction and becoming a journeyman lineman requires working full-time for nearly four years as an apprentice (around 7,000 hours). During this time, you’ll advance through seven steps of the program. After completing each step, your pay rate will increase, coming closer and closer to that of other journeymen linemen.
To learn all aspects of the trade, most apprentices get to work for more than one contractor during their time in the program.
For more information about the Lowell wrench sets, call (800) 456-9355 or email customerservice@lowellcorp.com. You can also connect with us on Facebook for exciting updates on future products.
Linemen need tough wrenches that can withstand the test of time. Lowell can make your utility work easier.
The Best Power Lineman Tools Since 1869
Lowell Corporation offers the best hand tools in the industry. Whether you need a strap wrench or a socket wrench set, you’ll want the right balance between cost and efficiency. Our custom hand tools make tough jobs easier for waterworks engineers and highline workers.
We’ve been increasing construction, maintenance, and manufacturing productivity since 1869. So let our American wrench sets simplify your workload. With our essential highline tools, you get the backing of the most trusted name in the hand tool industry.
Lowell Corporation is proud to manufacture all of our lineman tools right here in the USA in the heart of New England. All Lowell lineman speed wrenches are 100% guaranteed with our one-year manufacturer warranty against defects in material and craft for one year from delivery.
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