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As Jersey Central Power & Light, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., prepares to wind down its Power Systems Institute, the electric company announced July 5 that it has hired 29 graduates of the two-year educational program. 

According to JCP&L, the institute “helps prepare the next generation of line and substation workers for FirstEnergy’s 10 electric companies.” 

The company also noted that this PSI graduating class will be one of the last as it transitions to a paid apprentice program “to best meet the needs of future line and substation personnel.” On its website, FirstEnergy said it will have more information on the apprenticeship start dates later this year.

The new hires include 18 line workers and 11 substation electricians; all but four are New Jersey residents. The new employees completed programs at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft and Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg and trained at JCP&L facilities in Farmingdale and Philipsburg. 

“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,” Jim Fakult, president of FirstEnergy’s New Jersey operations, said in a statement. 

FirstEnergy said its new paid apprentice program will include more on-the-job training and networking opportunities as well as 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 peer electric companies,” Fakult added. 

In a recent New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development announcement, which unveiled more than $8.6 million to support apprenticeship programs and diversity in construction, Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo noted the benefits of this type of training.

“The simply reality is that these apprenticeship programs work,” Asaro-Angelo said. “They benefit employers who can create a steady stream of skill-ready workers. They benefit employees who learn valuable skills they can take with them as they build careers with family-sustaining incomes.”

Since PSI’s launch in 2000, FirstEnergy has hired more than 2,800 line and substation personnel who completed PSI programs in New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia. 

JCP&L serves 1.1 million customers in Burlington, Essex, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties.