Company is transitioning to a new, paid
apprentice program
AKRON,
Ohio, July 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy
Corp. (NYSE: FE) Ohio subsidiaries
Ohio Edison, The Illuminating Company and Toledo Edison have hired
a combined 46 graduates of Power Systems Institute (PSI), a
two-year educational program that helps prepare the next generation
of line and substation workers for FirstEnergy's 10 electric
companies. This will be one of the last graduating classes of PSI
as the company transitions to a new, paid apprentice program to
best meet the needs of future line and substation personnel.
The new employees include 33 line workers and 13 substation
electricians who completed the PSI training program in partnership
with Stark State College in North
Canton, Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C) in Cleveland and Owens
Community College in Perrysburg, earning their associate of
applied science degree in Electric Utility Technology.
"These men and women have dedicated themselves to their
education, and we look forward to these graduates joining our
workforce and making lives brighter in the communities we serve,"
said Patricia Mullin, acting
president of FirstEnergy's Ohio
operations.
The new Ohio Edison employees and their hometowns are:
- Brendan Bockelman, Cortland (line worker)
- Andrew Carr, Alliance (line
worker)
- Jon Cina, Austintown (line worker)
- Benjamin D'Andrea, Fowler (line worker)
- David Duvall, Struthers (line worker)
- Nathan Geer, Akron (substation electrician)
- Jeffery Griffith, Mogadore (substation electrician)
- Eric Kaszowski, North Jackson (substation electrician)
- Chandler Keener, Orrville (line worker)
- Daniel Kotyk, Uniontown (line worker)
- Jacob Pagas, Dover (line
worker)
- Zach Richards, Austintown (line worker)
- Jacob Saborse, Lordstown (substation electrician)
- Nicholas Thompson, North Canton (substation electrician)
- Timothy Wack, Alliance (line
worker)
- Hayden Youngblood, Atwater (line worker)
The new Illuminating Company employees and their hometowns
are:
- Joel Barker, Albion, Pa. (line worker)
- Brandon Bayus, Sagamore Hills (line worker)
- Santino Colabianchi,
Berea (substation
electrician)
- Tyler Czerwinski, Willoughby (line worker)
- Michael Ellis, Thompson
(substation electrician)
- Jamarr Greer, Cleveland (line worker)
- Kevin Habeeb, Cleveland (substation electrician)
- David Haldi, North Ridgeville (substation electrician)
- Shaun Jackson, Painesville (line worker)
- Tyler Jenkins, Avon Lake (line worker)
- Noah Kneier, Painesville (line worker)
- Gino Lavalle, North Royalton (substation electrician)
- Mark Malone, Painesville (line worker)
- Shobi Maynard, Amherst (line worker)
- Joseph Romano, North Royalton (line worker)
- Robert Sadd, Willoughby (line worker)
- Nathan Smith, Valley City (line worker)
- Nathan Snyderburn, Chardon (line worker)
- Donald Tucker, Warren (substation electrician)
- Ryan Winkel, Westlake (line worker)
The new Toledo Edison employees and their hometowns
are:
- Tyson Bauknight, Toledo (line worker)
- Kyle Blaze, Toledo (substation electrician)
- Wyatt Brown, Norwalk (line worker)
- Jonathon Byczynski, Holland (line worker)
- Devon Cleghorn, Maumee (line worker)
- Austin Haney, Delta (line
worker)
- Keaton Heckman, Lindsey (line
worker)
- Jacob Jude, Martin (substation
electrician)
- Simon Munger, Delta (line
worker)
- Kyle Whitaker, Holland (line worker)
PSI students split time between classes at Stark State, Tri-C, Owens and company training
facilities in Massillon,
Warren, Lakewood, Clinton and Brooklyn. Since the program's inception,
FirstEnergy has hired more than 2,800 line and substation personnel
who completed PSI programs in New
Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and West
Virginia.
To help address the continuing need for new line workers,
FirstEnergy is transitioning to a paid apprentice program that will
consist of more on-the-job training with seasoned bargaining unit
employees, offer opportunities for relationship-building with local
department personnel from the outset of the training program and
continue with classroom requirements to gain a deeper understanding
of the electric industry.
"PSI has served us well for many years, and we believe an
apprenticeship program is more in step with today's competitive
labor market and is being successfully utilized by a number of our
electric industry peers," said Mullin.
Ohio Edison serves more than
one million customers across 34 Ohio counties. Follow Ohio Edison on Twitter
@OhioEdison, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/OhioEdison, and online
at www.ohioedison.com.
The Illuminating Company serves 755,000 customers across
Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake
and Lorain counties. Connect with
The Illuminating Company at www.illuminatingcompany.com, on Twitter
@IlluminatingCo and on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/IlluminatingCo.
Toledo Edison serves nearly
315,000 customers in northwest Ohio. Follow Toledo Edison on Twitter
@ToledoEdison or on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/ToledoEdison.
FirstEnergy is dedicated to integrity, safety, reliability and
operational excellence. Its 10 electric distribution companies form
one of the nation's largest investor-owned electric systems,
serving customers in Ohio,
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West
Virginia, Maryland and
New York. The company's
transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of
transmission lines that connect the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic
regions. Follow FirstEnergy on
Twitter @FirstEnergyCorp or online
at www.firstenergycorp.com.
Editor's Note: Photos of FirstEnergy's Power
Systems Institute training program are available for download on
Flickr.
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SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp.