Line Worker Training

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Program Information

Line workers, also known as line installers or repairers, install or repair electrical power systems and telecommunications cables, including fiber optics.  Complex networks of physical power lines and cables provide consumers with electricity, landline telephone communication, cable television, and Internet access. Line workers are responsible for installing and maintaining these networks.

Line installers and repairers can specialize in different areas depending on the type of network and industry in which they work:

Electrical power-line installers and repairers install and maintain the power grid—the network of power lines that moves electricity from generating plants to customers. They routinely work with high-voltage electricity, which requires extreme caution.

Telecommunications line installers and repairers install and maintain the lines and cables used by network communications companies. Depending on the service provided—local and long-distance telephone, cable television, or Internet—telecommunications companies use different types of cables, including fiber optic cables.

Because these systems are complicated, many line workers also specialize by duty:

Line installers install new cable. They may work for construction contractors, utilities, or telecommunications companies. Workers generally start a new job by digging underground trenches or erecting utility poles and towers to carry the wires and cables. They use a variety of construction equipment, including digger derricks, which are trucks equipped with augers and cranes used to dig holes and set poles in place.

Line repairers are employed by utilities and telecommunications companies that maintain existing power and telecommunications lines. Maintenance needs may be identified in a variety of ways, including remote monitoring, aerial inspections, and by customer reports of service outages.

Occupational Choices

Overall employment of line installers and repairers is projected to grow 3 percent from 2022 to 2032, about as fast as the average for all occupations.

Electrical power-line installers and repairers held about 122,400 jobs in 2022 and there are 125,800 projected for 2032.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers,
at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/line-installers-and-repairers.htm (visited January 30, 2024).

Average Full-Time Wage

The median annual wage for electrical power-line installers and repairers was $82,340 in May 2022. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $47,070, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $114,590.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers,
at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/installation-maintenance-and-repair/line-installers-and-repairers.htm (visited January 30, 2024).

Additional Requirements

Minimum age of 18 years old.

Duration

10 hours per day
5 days per week
10-week course

Financial Assistance

100% funding is available through the Alabama Career Center.  For information regarding eligibility and application for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), please contact an Alabama Career Center. 

Montgomery Career Center
334-286-1746

The Veteran’s Administration has approved this program for funding of qualified individuals.

Scholarship opportunities may be available.

This award in non-cred and is not Pell Grant eligible.

Location

Portions of the training program will be offered at Trenholm State’s Patterson Site (3920 Troy Highway)

Awards Available

Certification
Line Worker

Program Contact

Danny Carden
Program Coordinator
334-420-4385
dcarden@trenholmstate.edu

Classes Required

  • OSHA 10
  • Construction and Skills Trades (CAST) Test Prep
  • Basic Pole Climbing
  • CPR/First Aid
  • Truck Driving Overview
  • Material Familiarization
  • Basic Electricity
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Ladder Safety/Post Hole Diggers
  • Knots, Sledgehammer
  • Rigging Switches: Use and care of Hand Line
  • Resume writing/Mock Interviews
  • Climbing and Working Aloft
  • Mechanized Equipment
  • Basic Line Construction/Pole top Rescue
  • Traffic Control
  • Chainsaw
  • Class B CDL Driver Training

All Line Worker Information
can be found on the Trenholm State website at:
https://www.trenholmstate.edu/line-worker-training/

Estimated Program Length & Cost

Award Length Tuition/Fees Books
Certificate 10 Weeks $4,150 $0