20 hours ago
New program teaches students to become electricians
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Midwest Technical Institute held a grand opening for its new program, aimed at teaching those who want to become electricians.
'I went and joined the program. I've been having a blast ever since I joined,' Student Austin Massey said.
Massey is just one of several students taking part in the course.
'This is my first introduction to electrical in general, residential, commercial, all that,' Massey said.
For him, it's been a neat experience.
'It's really cool to learn all the intricate stuff about electrical and why stuff works and why buildings are powered and everything and all that fun stuff,' Massey added.
Program Director/Instructor Shelby Obermann says they keep students busy by teaching them from their code book or with hands-on training.
'Today, the students are working on grounding and bonding,' Obermann said. 'They're essentially just kind of going over everything that we've learned about these past couple of weeks.'
The program helps by turning students into apprentices, just one step in the journey, and helping address a workforce shortage of electricians nationwide.
'It's a seven month program, just gives you an entry level position to be able to go out there as an apprentice and apply the skills and stuff like that that you're learning here, both code book and hands-on, because I am 100% implementing more hands-on than just bookwork,' Obermann said.
That shortage is something Brian Turmail, with the Association of General Contractors of America, says the industry desperately needs to address.
'[Based on our survey] in Missouri alone, two-thirds of contractors say they're having a hard time finding enough electricians to hire to keep pace with demand,' Turmail said.
Turmail says one of the reasons for the shortage is that a lot of students are pursuing four-year degrees, rather than going through trade schools.
'The shortest answer is mothers don't want their babies to grow up to be construction workers in this country,' Turmail said. 'We're encouraged by what we see in programs like [MTI's].'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
