Related Articles

Illinois IBEW Training Facility Gears Up for New Electric Grid Work

February 2, 2012

ComEd’s planned $3.2 billion investment in “smart-grid” technology is expected to create thousands of new electrical jobs throughout Illinois. And the demand for experienced utility workers is bringing fresh attention to Chicago Local 9’s training center in Forest Park, a nearby suburb.

As the Forest Park Review reports:

The forest of telephone poles planted outside an industrial-looking facility at 16th Street and Circle Avenue may pose a mystery to some Forest Parkers. The simple explanation is that the poles, railroad switch, and small-scale “intersection” are used to train apprentice electricians through Local 9 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

All the courses are taught by Local 9 linemen, which represent more than 2,000 utility workers.

Training Center coordinator Dan Fitzgerald says:

They’re all proficient in their fields and they’ve been teaching here for a long time. Apprentices have to complete it to become journeymen.

As we reported last November:

The Illinois state legislature overwhelmingly approved new “smart grid” legislation last month … The bill would invest $3.2 billion to modernize the state’s electric grid, which is expected to create nearly 2,500 jobs.

The initial investment will be funded by short-term rate hikes, but the implementation of smart meter and infrastructure improvement is expected to save ComEd customers $2.8 billion over 20 years.

Local 9 Business Manager Robert Pierson says the center serves not only apprentices, but experienced linemen as well.

Classes are filled every night, five days a week. We have to keep educating our people on a constant basis, because the work and the industry keeps changing.

And the center is looking to expand, with plans to build a 12-acre operators’ school to give Local 9 members hands-on training with heavy equipment.

Says Pierson, who also serves as chairman of the International Executive Council:

With all the work coming thanks to the smart grid, we’re really excited about our future.