POWERGRAMS

18 Maintenance programs also use the labs and the equipment. "It has been a marriage of industry and education," said Moore. "Alabama Power needed our space, and we had no means of purchasing the state-of-the-art equipment that your company has installed on this campus. The access our students have to your lab area is unprecedented." Alabama Power, Southern Company and Bevill State have a history of working together and sharing resources. About 10 years ago, Southern Company Technical Services began hiring contract instructors from Bevill State to train journeymen. In 2010, the relationship was further cemented when Bevill State instructors started offering safety and health training at Hydro and Fossil Generation plants. Three years later, Technical Training and Bevill State worked together to develop a soft-skills training curriculum to meet the needs of Generation employees who were selected for the In-Plant Career Development Program. The training includes courses focusing on résumé writing, interviewing, leadership skills and computer software. "Our longstanding relationship with Bevill State has allowed us to meet the ever-increasing need to provide our employees with state-of- the-art training and is a model that other schools around the country are looking to," said Tom McNeal, workforce development specialist, Southern Company Technical Training. "It is a partnership in the truest sense of the word and allows both parties to leverage assets so that we can both meet our goals as budgets in industry and education continue to stay flat or decrease." Along with the apprentice programs, the new center provides journeymen at Hydro and Fossil Generation plants with training to help them stay abreast of ever- changing technological advances. The training focuses on a range of topics, including electrical troubleshooting, pump fundamentals, heavy-duty switchgear and variable frequency drives. The curriculum at the center will be expanded this year to include mechanical welder apprentice training. Gorgas Plant Manager Valerie Wade said the company's partnership with Bevill State has greatly improved the quality of apprentice training. "The facilities established at Bevill are top-notch and give our apprentices the best opportunity to learn and grow," Wade said. "In addition, Plants Miller and Gorgas both use these facilities and train together, increasing consistency between the programs at each plant." "It has been a marriage of industry and education." - Al Moore, dean of the Bevill State Sumiton Campus and Career Technical Education E&I Apprentices Justin Woods and Untayus Taylor, at left; Instructor Neal Hood standing, at top; and Instructor Jim Fugate talks with Apprentice Jon Gillies, at bottom.

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