New PNW Electrical Training Facility Continues to Widen the Gap between Union Trades and Competition
Channel: ElectricTV
Date: 2022-11-22

Building and maintaining our world’s electrical grid is hard, especially in the Pacific Northwest where Mother Nature and geography make an already challenging situation all the more difficult. But that challenge doesn’t deter the IBEW and NECA Team from braving weather, storms - whatever it may be - to keep the lights on in our homes. In places like Washington, Oregon, and Seattle, this is job number 1… which would make training and developing the next generation of journeymen 1a. 

A new, state-of-the-art training center is currently being constructed in Battleground, Washington (just North of Portland), where you’ll find over 40,000 square feet of training space, spread between two buildings. 

With an indoor training yard that sports 45-ft ceilings, hotwork simulation will be a breeze. The space is equipped with 25 poles inside to provide trainees with more real world experience, but in a controlled environment. The second building is home to 6 different classrooms, each able to hold about 40 students, plus over a dozen offices for instructors. This facility also comes with a unique twist - a large area dedicated to training IBEW Tree Trimmers. The IBEW/NECA Powering America Team knows how line clearance tree trimming has a direct connection to the reliability of a power grid, so this was a necessary addition to the training center, which is a representation of the future of the line clearance portion of this industry. 

The project is a collaborative effort between Northwest Line Constructors Chapter of NECA, four IBEW Locals; 77 in Seattle, 125 in Portland, 659 in Medford, and 483 in Tacoma.

None of this would be possible without this working partnership, and to apprentices and journeymen this facility represents a training center second-to-none. For stakeholders and customers in the Northwest, it represents the investment and the commitment NECA and IBEW have in this industry. And most importantly, Battleground Training Facility is creating jobs in an ever-growing industry. What’s better than that? Watch now on ETV.

Chapters:
00:00 - 00:17 - Intro
00:17 - 00:31 - Linemen Work in All Types of Weather
00:32 - 01:17 - Details of the New Training Center Extension in Battleground, Washington
01:17 - 01:32 - The NECA Chapter & IBEW Locals Involved in this Collaborative Effort
01:32 - 02:31 - The Future of Line Clearance Tree Trimming
02:31 - 03:03 - Expansion for Growth
03:04 - 03:39 - Learning in a Controlled Environment
03:39 - 03:59 - NECA & IBEW Partnership
04:00 - 04:40 - Creating Jobs in an Ever-Growing Industry
04:41 - 04:59 - Outro

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Who Are We?
Electric TV is a jointly funded online video platform by NECA and the IBEW where we produce short video features on the work of local NECA contractors and IBEW craftsmen and women. At ETV, we're looking to showcase stories that include NECA & IBEW working together to create the best electrical teams in the nation. 

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