After debuting the program in the fall of 2018 at its Lebanon location, Ozarks Technical Community College will expand its line worker training program to the Richwood Valley campus in the fall of 2021. The two-year program leads to an Associate of Applied Science in Electrical Distribution Systems. The OTC Richwood Valley Campus is located on Highway 14 in Christian County between Ozark and Nixa.
“We realized very quickly that there was a great deal of demand for line worker training in southwest Missouri,” said Dr. Hal Higdon, OTC chancellor. “Right now, we turn away more students than we can admit to the program. This expansion will allow the college to nearly double the number of graduates we turn out.”
Students in the program learn how to build, repair, and operate the nation’s power grid. Instruction includes how to safely climb utility poles and install and maintain electrical distribution systems. Additionally, students will be trained in first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and obtain a commercial driver’s license.
Currently, the Lebanon program can accept 24 students each fall. The new program at Richwood Valley will initially take 18 students for the fall of 2021, with plans to eventually admit classes of 24 each year.
Twenty students from the first class of OTC’s Electrical Distribution Systems program graduated in the spring of 2020. Despite entering the workforce during the pandemic, 15 of those graduates are working in the field. All of the graduates have a 100% pass rate on all state certifications and exams.
According to the Occupational Information Network, the average salary for a line worker in southwest Missouri is $79,750.
Students interested in pursuing a career in Electrical Distribution Systems at either Lebanon or Richwood Valley should visit otc.edu/eds, email eds@otc.edu or call 417-447-8146. A new cohort of students begins every fall.
