Avista’s apprentices have been an important part of our workforce since before 1949 when our Line Apprenticeship was first established. Today we have between 75 – 85 apprenticeships across 12 areas, including Electric Operations, Gas Operations, Communications (ET), Generation and Substation Support, and Fleet.
The apprenticeships are co-sponsored by Avista and a partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers (IBEW) Local 77.
“We like to say that apprentices are ‘paid to learn,’ rather than ‘paying to learn’ because we use a building-block philosophy that begins with learning the fundamentals in a classroom and transitions to on-the-job training that progressively builds upon each step over a two to four year period. And they’re learning from our experienced Journeymen both in the classroom and on the jobsite,” said Eric Rosentrater, Avista’s Director of Labor Relations.
“Avista has over 400 employees with a title of Journeyman, who are our instructors in the field. They teach, train, and mold our apprentices to be our future in crafts that are essential to the Company’s success for the Company’s customers. Apprenticeships provide a structured environment to learn the skills, abilities, and knowledge of a trade. Eventually, we hope it leads to a fulfilling career,” said Mike Brown, Assistant Business Manager of IBEW, Local 77.
So, here’s a big shout out to all those apprentices who are learning on the job every day, and to the hundreds of others who are teachers and mentors, in addition to their jobs as Journeymen.
(Photo taken at Jack Stewart Training Center Pre-Covid-19)