SAN ANGELO, Texas — The Howard College Workforce Development Office announced the start of an electrical training program Monday.
A press release from Howard College said this type of program has been highly requested to help with filling a need for construction workers of all types in San Angelo. Howard is partnering with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 520 on this program.
According to the IBEW, “This interim certificate program will prepare a person for the entrance into a career in the electrical industry via apprenticeship or construction electrician training,” the release said.
The course will begin March 21 for the first group of students.
There is still time to enroll in the program that will be taught from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Potential students can contact the workforce development department at 325-481-8322 or cewt@howardcollege.edu.
“We have been exploring hosting an Electrical Training program for a while now and we are excited to be able to offer this to our community,” Nicole Stevens, Dean of Workforce Development, said in the release.
According to a study “Dark by 2050” published in 2019 by Klein Tools and the Accelerate Group, “The country will need 224,000 more electrical workers in 2030 than are working today. Instead, the projected retirements from the field show that the gap in the workforce will exceed 251,000 workers (25% of the workforce need) by 2030,” the release said.
Howard College said in the release it is excited to add this program to a growing roster of construction industry programs including a craftsman program, HVAC-R and welding courses. The craftsman program teaches students the basics of all areas of residential construction while the residential heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC-R) program prepares students to enter the HVAC field as a technician.
Both programs are about one year long. The workforce development department hosts a series of five welding courses on a carrying schedule: aluminum MIG, MIG/MAG, TIG, stick and pipe.
