Unitil, (unitil.com), a provider of natural gas and electricity to customers in New England, is working to recruit the next generation of lineworkers as the industry prepares for a wave of retirements within its older workforce.
With the golden years approaching for many lineworkers who have spent years keeping the lights on, Unitil has made finding new talent through local colleges, trade schools, job fairs and other efforts a priority.
“Like others in the industry, we’re anticipating a number of retirements over the next few years and it’s critical that we plan for it now,” said Unitil Media Relations Manager Alec O’Meara. “We have a great team of lineworkers in place currently and we hope they’ll stay with us for a long time, but we recognize that we need to prepare for the future and ensure we maintain high quality service.”
As Unitil develops its lead lineworkers to replace future retirees, new lineworker positions will open and need to be filled.
Last November, Unitil hosted its own job fair at its headquarters in Hampton, N.H., aimed at attracting more military veterans. The company has also been working to build a new relationship with Manchester Community College, which offers an electrical lineworker certificate program, by partnering with the school to connect graduates with Unitil.
“We were very impressed when we toured the school and met with some of the students in the program. On the day we visited, we got a chance to see the students getting some hands-on experience while practicing pole climbing in the school’s own training yard,” O’Meara said.
"We have a great team of lineworkers in place currently and we hope they’ll stay with us for a long time, but we recognize that we need to prepare for the future and ensure we maintain high quality service."
Media Relations Manager, Alec O'Meara
Over the past several months, representatives from Unitil have attended job fairs in person and virtually at the University of New Hampshire, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Southern New Hampshire University and New Hampshire Works.
In addition to targeting lineworkers, Unitil has made efforts to attract graduates from trade schools like the New Hampshire School of Mechanical Trades, Granite State Trade School, and NHTI after finding that some are a good fit for open positions in the company’s gas and electric divisions.
