ELKTON, Md. — It’s easy to take the essentials for granted. The lights are expected to work every time the switch is flipped. Supermarkets are expected to be fully stocked with fruits, veggies, and other perishables.
Electrical line workers who keep the lights on and the truck drivers who get our food from the farm to the store remain an afterthought until there’s a power outage or the local Giant doesn’t have the items we need.
There's a new learning center that wants to help ensure we are never without electricity or our daily essentials.
Utilitrain, a school that trains the next generation of freight drivers and utility linemen, just had a grand opening of a new training facility today in Elkton. After a fifteen-week course, students will be fully prepared to do electrical work. In four weeks, students can earn a CDL and be fully prepared to drive freight.
Utilitrain's main mission is to get more workers into blue-collar/trade roles. They are aiming to get enrollment from high school graduates, get them trained, and earn money in their trade as soon as they are ready.
“With the grids growing throughout the country and the demand for power, from data centers from electric cars, we have such an impact to the infrastructure that we need to have more people to build these infrastructures,” said Luke Granger, the CEO of Utilitrain.