Apprentices successfully complete first year of training program

Written by: Steve Leon

The apprentices take time for a photo in front of the icon of their trades — Hoover Dam. Photo by Patrick Jacobs“The month of August 2016 is a memorable period in our Apprenticeship Program,” Randolph M. Argote declared recently.

Argote, the Supervisory Apprentice Coordinator at Hoover Dam, added, “Our power system electrician apprentices (PSEAs) successfully completed their first year in the program on Aug. 21.”

He then said that following a recent announcement, the Program is in the process of selecting five more powerplant operator apprentices (PPOAs). Additionally, the hydroelectric mechanic apprentices (HEMAs) completed their examinations on Aug. 31, which expedited their crossing of the halfway point in their program.

“This is an exciting triple milestone completion for all of us in the Apprenticeship Training Group,” Argote said. “We will celebrate these accomplishments with pride and gratitude to everyone in Hoover Dam and the Lower Colorado Dams Office, whose continuous support made all these possible.” He continued and with pride characterized the Hoover Dam Apprenticeship Program as “. . . a viable resource to train and develop these outstanding journeymen of the future.”

The group of PSEAs and HEMAs include Jeremy Trip, Joseph Crugnale, Richard Stewart, Dustin Shigematsu, Paul Valdez, Joshua Schwab, Sean Bucknam, Elijah Long, Chris Hanson and Corinna Wittig.

PPOA Instructor Bob Swain said he expects to begin instruction on powerplant operations in December with a new class “. . . of five shiny new powerplant operator apprentices.”

Published on September 26, 2016