Gateway Community & Technical College, in partnership with NaviGo and Duke Energy, will be hosting a live training demonstration of its Lineworker Technician Certificate Program, Northern Kentucky’s only 16-week lineworker training program, today at its Boone campus in Florence from 5-7:30 p.m.
NaviGo is a college & career preparation division of Learning Grove whose work, in part, is to engage students in River Cities in trade and technical training opportunities and career exploration options.
Duke Energy is a long-standing partner of both organizations, having helped establish the lineman training program with Gateway in 2020.
On Tuesday, October 18, River Cities high school students will get to learn about line technician program at Gateway – which is an option for dual credit learning as well – the earning potential for the lineman career, occupation’s employment opportunities, and see coursework in action. This program launched in 2020 is Northern Kentucky’s only program of its kind and was developed with input from the industry to address the local labor shortage in the field.
Duke Energy line trainers will also be in attending to discuss the job duties, skills, and knowledge required to succeed in the high-demand field of line working.
“Duke Energy is already seeing the benefits of our long-standing partnership with Gateway Community & Technical College with the lineworker program,” said Chris Lange, Vice President of Zone Operations, at Duke Energy. “We continue to build our workforce and this education program is a great place to start recruiting right here in our own service area.”
Students who earn their certificate in the accelerated program can advance into the field with the skills, knowledge, safe work practices and physical ability required to become a line technician apprentice. Since the program’s development, more than 60 students have earned their certificate and have obtained employment, with more than a dozen of them securing positions with Duke Energy.
Dr. Fernando Figueroa, President of Gateway Community & Technical College said, “Gateway’s lineworker program will continue to thrive because of the partnerships with Duke Energy and NaviGo, as will the entire Northern Kentucky community as a result of the dedication that these two organizations have for our region and its people.
“Career and technical education options are needed in our community more than ever. We are particularly proud to work with NaviGo to expose River Cities High School students to Gateway education options, including career and technical training. Those options are not as readily available to our River Cities communities because of transportation and other factors.”
