HOUSTON – Not everyone wants to sit in a classroom for four years, and for some careers that isn’t necessary. The Electrician Career Academy at Trio Education offers a fast-track, hands-on program designed to get students working in a high-demand field.
The program is 10 weeks if taken in the evening or five weeks in the morning, and costs around $8,000. Students receive boots, tools, OSHA-10 certification, and the TDLR license required to become an electrician.
“So this is a 10-week program if you do it in the evening, or a five-week program if you do it in the morning. During your 200 hours in this program, we’re going to train you on how to become an electrician,” said Andrea Calvo, program director.
Students learn to bend and run conduit, wire commercial buildings, and perform installations they’ll use on the job. Calvo says the program was created by the industry, for the industry.
“We’re going to give you boots, we’re going to give you tools, hands-on training, which is the most important thing, OSHA-10, and a TDLR license, which you need to become an electrician,” she said.
Apprentice Abisai Sandoval has been around the trade his whole life, helping his dad on jobs. He decided to skip college and pursue commercial electrical work.
“I’ve always seen my dad do this kind of work. He took me on jobs when I was little, and I found it very interesting, but I didn’t really want to take the college route because I didn’t like school,” he said.
Sandoval enjoys the hands-on nature of the job. “We’re bending pipe, we’re running conduit, and then we’re running wire through that conduit. It’s what I enjoy, working with my hands and staying active. I don’t like standing behind a desk,” he said.
He’s already planning his next steps. “The next step after this is definitely becoming a journeyman, and ultimately a master electrician so I can have my own company, especially to run it with my dad,” he said.
Demand for electricians is high, with an estimated 800,000 openings nationwide. Trio Education says financial aid is available for those who qualify.
For more information on the Electrician Career Academy, visit https://trioeducation.com/.