Christopher Jones needed a jolt to jumpstart his career.
The 35-year-old restaurant manager’s career had lagged in the all-consuming food business. He left last year, took a job as an electrician’s apprentice and enrolled in the North Lake College electrical construction technology program.
“I needed something more exciting, more challenging. I needed a career,” said Jones, who now works for Cummings Electrical as an apprentice. He hopes his courses at North Lake College will catapult him into a journeymen’s position that promises higher pay and job stability.
“Journeymen know everything,” Nash said. “I only wish I had come here to North Lake straight out of high school. It’s easier to soak all of this up when you’re younger. But I’m trying. It’s different when you have to go to school. You study harder.”
Getting a jump start
At 18, Owen Nash knew he needed to turn around his bad luck. He had transferred to several high schools around Ennis because of his poor academic performance.
“I was a freshman for four years,” said Nash, who gave up high school and dropped out. “I was being a bum and growing tired of it.” With renewed interest in his education, Nash earned his GED last year, and that was just the start. He got a job as an electrician’s apprentice, and he also enrolled at North Lake College.
“This was an opportunity,” said Nash, a first-year student in the electrical construction technology program. “My dad kind of motivated me in a parental way. I had two weeks to find a job – and I did. I was a janitor and moved on to electrical apprentice,” he explained.
He, too, is working toward becoming a journeyman. “I know that I can learn more, education-wise,” Nash said. “I can go forward as a dropout. I have top potential for a good life. I know now that education is something they can’t take from me.”
Tyler Battishill, 28, is pursuing his associate degree in electrical construction technology – a field he encountered while he was serving in the Air Force.
“I did radio signals. and I wanted to stay in my field,” said Battishill, an electrical apprentice and a single father of a 5-year-old. “You always know that someone is going to want this kind of work done. I like it because job security is not an issue.”
At North Lake College, students like Jones, Nash and Battishill are learning to power up the world. They are on career paths that could last a lifetime.
Pursuing careers with options
Dedication and hard work are the cornerstone of the program’s success, said Michael Cooley, a construction professor at North Lake’s Teaching and Learning Center. With input from local industry professionals, students train for roles in construction management as well as skilled trades.
Tom Hoops, who coordinates the program, said students can go into management or train to become “worker bees.” There’s room for both, he said.
“The marketplace is booming, so we need workers,” Hoops added. “Workers who are employed now will work all year. In Dallas, we have a lot of companies moving here. Name a place in Dallas that doesn’t use electricity. There just isn’t one.”
North Lake, Hoops said, is turning out skilled, confident employees. It is the only college in the Dallas County Community College District that offers electrical construction technology. In two years, a full-time student can complete an Electrical Technology Associate in Applied Sciences degree or and an Electrical Construction Associate in Applied Sciences degree. Students can earn certificates in about two to three semesters.
With the business boom and ever-expanding housing market in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, electricians are sought out to install and maintain electrical power, communication, lighting and control systems, The training is practical and hands-on, said Hoops, who has more than 30 years in the industry.
“We look at the labor force, and the market is really good right now,” Hoops said. “If you don’t keep your workforce productive, you don’t make any money. When we talk about construction, we’re the last people to be outsourced.”
North Lake College and the Construction Education Foundation of North Texas have formed a partnership at the DFW Education Center that offers evening and weekend classes. The 60,000-square-foot building houses classrooms, offices and laboratories. “The idea is you get them here, train them and get them working. Of course, some already have jobs when they enroll,” Hoops said.
Following a path to steady employment
Electricians install, maintain and repair electrical power, communications lighting and control systems. They work inside homes, businesses and factories. The work is both indoors and outdoors.
Master electricians are constantly in command. Salaries average $51,110 a year or $24.57 an hour, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. The job outlook is promising, with a faster-than-average growth rate of about 14 percent through 2024. Median pay for electricians is $51,110 annually or $24.57 an hour, labor experts said.
Students learn the mechanics of construction or home repair as well as other structures such highways and roads. Troubleshooting is a significant component of the work. Students learn about operating errors and how to fix them. “They are the building leaders in wiring, testing and installing electrical equipment,” Hoops said.
The work isn’t glamorous. Safety equipment – including glasses, shoes, hearing protection, hard hats and gloves – is required. A lot of work is done outside in all kinds of conditions, Hoops said.
“Safety is a big issue and is taught in each class,” Hoops added. “If you don’t work safely in the workplace, you go out of business. We want you to go home to your family, and we want you to come back to work.”
Careers are made in this field, Hoops said. Installation, operations and electrical construction all work hand in hand. The high growth in this field is attributed to renovations, new homes, schools and businesses.
“We have some companies who send students here, so we have people from every background with different levels of experience. Whatever they come with, we work to make them better,” said Hoops.
North Lake College is accredited by the American Council for Construction Education (ACCCE). The school’s construction management program is the oldest two-year program in the country.
Summer classes begin June 8.
