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Equal Opportunity Employer
Kaukauna Utilities is an equal opportunity employer, and is committed to ensuring that our organization recruits, hires, trains and promotes into all levels, the most qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran’s status or any other protected class that exists now or in the future.
A Career as an Electrical Lineworker
Electricity is a fundamental need of society today. Just about every person, family, home and business relies on the comfort of electricity to accomplish everyday tasks. Since the 1800s, power lines have been essential to transport electricity from generation plants through transmission lines on to distribution lines where it is routed to the final user. There have always been skilled workers needed to construct, operate and maintain these lines. These highly trained people have been come to known as “lineworkers.”
+ What is the job all about?
By nature, linework offers many rewards. The work may be extremely challenging and sometimes physically demanding, but it is always interesting. Many lineworkers feel a great sense of pride in a job well done. Each day as a lineworker will bring diversity as the types of projects, jobs and work locations change frequently. There also is a strong camaraderie among lineworkers in this environment. Like police and firefighters, lineworkers dare to risk their lives for the betterment of their communities. Lineworkers perform their jobs outdoors and are subject to all types of weather conditions. Through these sometimes adverse conditions, they perform heroic tasks to keep the power on to homes and businesses.
Work is done both on overhead and underground lines. Overhead work is typically done at heights above the ground ranging from 25 feet to 200 feet. Lineworkers can expect to be needed at any hour to restore power after severe weather or even accidents. These special calls can require long hours of overtime. While linework has had a reputation of being hazardous, improved equipment and materials over the years have made the job very safe. For employees who develop strong safety habits, the hazard exposure is similar to that of other trades.
+ What will you likely do as a lineworker?
Men or women who are interested in pursuing a career in linework should be:
+ What skills are important to the job?
Linework offers considerable opportunities for a rewarding career either with an electric utility, contractor or construction firm. Because qualified, trained workers are always in demand, there are significant career advancement opportunities. In addition, there is considerable potential for advancement into supervisory positions. Although lineworkers have typically been men, there is a growing trend toward more women entering the trade.
+ What types of career opportunities are there?
There is a growing need for skilled lineworkers due to community and population growth as well as an increased demand in electric power. In addition, many of the existing power lines are in need of replacement and maintenance. Furthermore, companies are beginning to experience the retirement of the “baby boomer” generation and are in need of qualified personnel. All of these elements are generating the strong need for highly trained, qualified workers. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) indicates that overall employment of lineworkers (in the electric, telephone and cable industries) is projected to show little or no change from 2020 to 2030. Despite limited employment growth, about 23,300 openings for lineworkers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Most of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.
+ How do future opportunities look?
