BPA’s Apprenticeship Program: Electricians

Enjoy a rewarding career maintaining electric reliability in the Pacific Northwest by becoming a high-voltage electrician through BPA’s Apprenticeship Program. The four-year training program offers motivated individuals the opportunity to pursue a rewarding career that is essential to helping BPA deliver low-cost, carbon-free energy to numerous local communities.

For electricians, BPA’s Apprenticeship Program is the first step toward beginning the hands-on work of maintaining and repairing major electrical equipment in substations, installing and adjusting major electrical, and performing diagnostic testing to inspect parts and equipment, among other duties.

Interested in applying?

The program application period opens in January each year. New apprentices accepted into the program start in the summer and begin with a three-week orientation to prepare them for work in the field. After orientation, apprentices begin field work at their assigned duty station where they are accompanied by experienced journeymen, who oversee and guide the apprentices throughout the program.

First-hand experience from a program graduate  

Blake Mauger, a journeyman electrician for BPA’s Longview Substation Maintenance team, came to the Electrician Apprenticeship Program with some prior electrical experience and knowledge of electrical theory, but the program curriculum starts with the basics for new apprentices with little to no electrical experience.

After completing orientation, apprentices are immediately assigned to a crew with skilled mentors in the same field. The program is split up into eight steps or training periods. The program’s first step introduces apprentices to lessons on safety combined with craft-specific rules. As apprentices move through the steps in the program and gain valuable experience, they in turn help guide and monitor lower-step apprentices. Upon completion of the eight-step program, apprentices transition into the journeyman electrician role. 

Throughout the program, apprentices travel between different work sites to gain experience with equipment not located at their duty station. “I think one of the most valuable things is the fact that we are able to work with so many different crews,” Mauger said.

Mauger also shared that sustaining vital electrical equipment housed in BPA’s 257 substations across the region adds up electricians performing quite a bit of preventative maintenance. “We work to prevent any catastrophic failure while prolonging the life of equipment.”

For those considering the apprenticeship program, Mauger said the experience not only prepares you for work as an electrician but opens paths into other parts of BPA. “The job is definitely more than being an electrician,” he said. “I think the program really expands your horizons and opens the door to other crafts down the road.”