SUNY Broome's announcement to continue its lineworker training program expands on its success last year, having graduated 21 of the 25 students who participated.

In collaboration with NYSEG and the IBEW Union, students will get the hands-on experience to fill much-needed lineworker positions, in a market that is looking for new hires.

Christine Martey-Ochola, Associate Vice President of Workforce Development and STEM says, "They do four weeks of instruction and then they do 16 weeks of an internship, which is a paid internship with my say, which is an excellent opportunity to get the skills to see labor happening in real-time. And they're not just shadowing, they're actively working alongside the line workers."

The program will begin on April 14 this year, with prospective students expected to attend an information session by February 8 to be eligible.

The program is only accepting 20 people this year, so it makes the process highly competitive, especially since it's one of the few opportunities to gain pre-work experience in New York.

Ochola says, "It's very competitive. And so out of those 250 people will come through, get their information, do their assessment if they decide that that's something they want to do, and then we go through a rigorous review and recommendation."  

Ochola says this program is just one step in the right direction to create more workforce-driven opportunities right here in Broome County.

"I see the the linework opportunity as being just one of many that we can do and develop as we as we go forward. And, you know, I'd like to encourage anyone who's listening, who's an industry and just curious about what they could do to build up their workforce, to really reach out to the workforce development team so that we can sit together, brainstorm what the future could look like, and for that we can do for each other," says Ochola.

If you are interested in learning more, you can visit SUNY Broome's continuing education page on their website.