OTC adds rare training program at Lebanon campus

With the latest degree program, Ozarks Technical Community College officials say they’re filling a need for electrical line workers.

This fall, OTC plans to add a two-year applied science associate degree in electrical distribution systems at its Lebanon campus. Officials indicated the only current two-year associate degree in electrical distribution systems is offered at the State Technical College of Missouri in Linn, near Jefferson City, according to a news release.

“As line workers retire, there is a shortage of trained people to fill those positions,” OTC Chancellor Hal Higdon said in the release. “This new program will help provide skilled workers who are so important to maintaining our infrastructure.”

For the program, Laclede Electric Cooperative contributed electrical poles, and Lebanon resident Bill Williams donated an undisclosed sum. OTC consulted with co-ops and electrical companies to determine the need for a line-worker program, and many officials with those organizations are consulting for the program’s development.

“They recognized the need and stepped up to provide whatever was necessary to quickly make this program a reality,” said Dusty Childress, executive dean of OTC centers, in the release.

The program will teach students how to build, repair and operate electric power grids.