Company is transitioning to a new, paid apprentice program
FAIRMONT, W.Va., July 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Mon Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), has hired eight new graduates of Power Systems Institute (PSI), a two-year educational program that helps prepare the next generation of line and substation workers for FirstEnergy's 10 electric companies. This will be one of the last graduating classes of PSI as the company transitions to a new, paid apprentice program to best meet the needs of future line and substation personnel.
The new employees, who recently graduated from the PSI partnership established in 2012 with Pierpont Community & Technical College in Fairmont, West Virginia, will all serve as line workers.
"These men and women have dedicated themselves to their education, and we look forward to these graduates joining our workforce and making lives brighter in the communities we serve," said Jim Myers, president of FirstEnergy's West Virginia operations.
The new Mon Power line workers and their hometowns are:
- Teran Allman, Jane Lew
- Reece Carr, Fairmont
- Brandon Flesher, Weston
- Timothy Hunt, Weston
- Kendal Hamric, Frametown
- Michael McConnell, Accident (MD)
- Christopher Roach, Washington
- Phillip Steele, Burnsville
The PSI curriculum requires two and a half days each week spent at Pierpont completing academic course work with the remainder of the week spent at a Mon Power training facility in White Hall, West Virginia, focusing on safe work practices and procedures in the electrical environment. Ultimately, students earn an associate of applied science degree in Electric Utility Technology.
Since the program's inception, FirstEnergy has hired more than 2,800 line and substation personnel who completed PSI programs in West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
To help address the continuing need for new line workers, FirstEnergy is transitioning to a paid apprentice program that will consist of more on-the-job training with seasoned bargaining unit employees, offer opportunities for relationship-building with local department personnel from the outset of the training program and continue with classroom requirements to gain a deeper understanding of the electric industry.
"PSI has served us well for many years, but we believe an apprenticeship program is more in step with today's competitive labor market and is being successfully utilized by a number of our electric industry peers," said Myers.
Mon Power serves about 395,000 customers in 34 West Virginia counties. Follow Mon Power at www.mon-power.com, on Twitter @MonPowerWV, and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MonPowerWV.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland and New York. The company's transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp.
Editor's Note: Photos of FirstEnergy's Power Systems Institute training program are available for download on Flickr.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.