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Lineman's Apprenticeship Is About Teamwork
Author: MT 43 News Staff Reporter

MT 43 News Staff Reporter

Cody Zimmerman of White Sulphur Springs entered college to become a wildlife management specialist. He likes the outdoors and comes from hard workers. Two years into his college courses, he talked to a friend who no longer worked in wildlife biology. The guy expressed his discontent with the field: “ If I had it to do over again, I’d go into the trades.” Cody agreed. He joined the Lineman’s Apprentice Program at age 31.

Cody is a burly guy with a quick smile and an engaging personality. He enjoys working with a team. The apprentice program fits his needs and as it turns out, his fellow apprentices like him too. They voted him president of his group, so beginning in 2023, he has led the group of 30 or so to learn to climb poles, install electrical transmitters, run heavy equipment, and work as a team in all cases.

The Montana program trains as many as 200 workers in each three-and-a-half-year session to hook up electric grids all over the mountain states. It’s not just a one-and-done process of signing up for lineman’s work. After recruits are accepted, they enter an indentured process whereby they wait until their number is called to move to the first step of apprenticeship.

Cody explained to enter the program, a person (either man or woman) must be 18 years old and have a Class A Certified Driver’s License (CDL). The current program started with 50 people, but gradually ended the second year with about 30. The only women in a lineman’s program are in Utah.

The 7,000-hour apprenticeship includes full-scale electrical training. Cody further explained bookwork is the basis of the apprenticeship. “We test every three months. “We must get at least an 80% on the tests. Otherwise, a guy is out.”

Safety is a priority in the apprenticeship program. The workers receive emergency medical training. In addition, basic sections include outdoor work: setting poles, pole climbing, stringing wire, hooking up transformers and running heavy equipment. “Anyone who joins the program needs to like being outside doing physical work all the time,” he said. Apprentices join the program free of charge and if they stay, they move up through the program to become journeymen for companies such as Vigilante Electric, and Idaho Power. The union jobs come through the International Brothers of Electrical Workers (IBEW) with all the benefits offered by the union.

According to Tim Newman, assistant director of the Mountain States Joint Apprenticeship Training Organization program, The course certifies workers who become journeymen for electrical companies all over the Northwest including Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Currently, men from all over the Northwest are in the program including members of the Salish Kootenai nation.

Saturday, July 20, the crowd will see the men compete in a Lineman’s Rodeo beginning at 8:30 am. The two-day rodeo which begins Friday night at 7:00 pm with a memorial service, is open to the public. It will include kids’ events, a beer garden and a live auction with a raffle. The public is invited and there is no charge for entrance.

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PhotoCredit: Nancy Marks, MT43News Photographer
Image 1 Caption: White Sulphur Springs resident Cody Zimmerman is president of the 2023 Lineman's Apprenticeship Program. Nancy Marks, MT43News Photographer
Image 2 Caption: Lineman apprentices learn to operate the Digger Derek used to set electrical poles. Nancy Marks, MT43News Photographer