The program is held by Northlands College once per year. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

Studies Complete

One dozen powerline men ready to work after Northlands College program

Jun 30, 2020 | 5:00 PM

It was the first time since the powerline technician program at Northlands College began five years ago that all those who started classes successfully finished.

That’s according to Instructor Bruce Skilliter, who said there were 12 graduates who completed the 12-week course. He noted it’s a strenuous and physical job where sometimes they’ll be working 50-feet in the air during storms or really bad weather conditions.

“When the power goes out in the middle of the night, these are the kind of guys who go out, work on it and put it back together,” Skilliter said. “We have job opportunities for everybody and, within the last three years with this being Year Four, we’ve always had 100 per cent employment out of our course.”

The program completion ceremony occurred June 30 at the River Campus in Air Ronge. Those who attended included Northlands College CEO Guy Penney and Saskatchewan Lt. Gov. Russell Mirasty.

Skilliter mentioned SaskPower, which hires 24 powerline men every year, is a big employer of Northlands College graduates. He added some could also be hired by SaskTel or one of 16 private contractors throughout the province.

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“There’s around 20,000 jobs in the next four years in Canada for powerline men,” Skilliter said. “There’s a lot of older fellas who are retiring in the next five to 10 years, so those positions will all need to be refilled from the bottom up.”

Since the program typically begins in March, staff with Northlands College had to work with the Saskatchewan Health Authority to move ahead with it this spring. At first, Skilliter said the class was split in half with each group studying for half days. As social distance requirements lessened, they were then able to sit together as a group.

A ceremony was held Tuesday and social distancing took place. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

One of the graduates was Teague Iron from Cole Bay. He had recently finished high school and thought the program would be a good opportunity as it led to a job quickly. He added there was a lot of physical labour, but he noted it wasn’t too hard.

“I learned lots and it was just a cool experience learning all these new things about power,” Iron said. “I’m hoping to get in with SaskPower at their camp in Weyburn. I’m going to go there and hopefully get a job with them.”

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derek.cornet@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @saskjourno