CAC electrician program puts students on career path

By Ross Rector, Carpentry/Electrician Programs Professor

Career pathway, profession, occupation, trade, etc. are all synonymous terms that are most likely very familiar to today’s students and in professional education arenas. These terms are also synonymous with enhancing the quality of one’s life.

The Commercial Electrician Installer program at Central Arizona College is aimed at creating opportunities for individuals aspiring to be an electrician while enhancing their professional possibilities.

The program meets four days a week, for 16 weeks at the College’s Superstition Mountain Campus. Coursework is based on the nationally recognized curriculum from the National Center for Construction Education Research (NCCER). Hands-on instruction with real life application is provided by experienced electricians.

At the completion of their studies, students will earn a Commercial Electrician Installer Certificate from CAC and certificate credentials from NCCER and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The 18 college credits they complete are transferable for continued education if desired.

CAC and Wilson Electric have a strong partnership that provides a strong career path for graduates. Wilson Electric offers one-and-a-half years of completed apprenticeship experience to any student who completes the program and gets hired.

Students enrolled in the program typically receive a higher wage based on their newly acquired skills in safety, tools, wire pulling, conduit bending, terminating receptacles, switches, breakers, and installing and wiring service entrance panels and more. With the job-like atmosphere in the classroom and lab, students practice safety at every level of the program, and with 75% of the learning hands-on, allowances are made for student practice and quality repetition.

More than 90% of students who have completed The Commercial Electrician Installer program are engaged in the electrical workforce, establishing their career pathway as an electrician and enhancing their opportunities for success.

For information about the program, contact Professor Rector at [email protected] or 480-677-7866.