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Insights > Safety. Trust. Accountability. Teamwork: Entergy New Orleans Welcomes New Lineworker Helpers
Safety. Trust. Accountability. Teamwork: Entergy New Orleans Welcomes New Lineworker Helpers
12/13/2021
Delgado Graduates Join the Metro Team
“I loved every part of it,” said Gustavo Machigua, Entergy New Orleans lineworker helper as he reminisced on his experience at Delgado Community College’s Certified Lineworker Training program. “It was not just the program itself, it was the relationships, trust and accountability I was able to build with the guys who I started with as classmates and graduated with as brothers.”
Machinga, along with his former classmates and now co-workers, Connor Bologna, Rhyder Chriss, Terry Farmer, David Guzman and Rashad Washington, joined Entergy New Orleans as lineworker helpers after graduating from Delgado in October 2021. During the six-month program, the helpers learned that safety must always be top of mind and explored the theoretical and hands-on foundation of:
- climbing poles and stringing cables
- installing transformers and laying underground cables
- inspecting and testing power lines
- identifying defectives fuses, switches and wires
Each course adheres to the curriculum of the National Center for Construction Education and Research.
Investing in a skilled and diverse workforce, not only through financial contributions, but also by working directly with students, is integral to how Entergy New Orleans contributes to the quality of life in local communities. Ryan Price, Entergy New Orleans construction supervisor, is a mirror of this commitment leading the lineworker training program since its inception nearly five years ago.
“Every day is an interview for the students in the program. That is why I do everything I can to provide a real experience, with an emphasis on safety, for them as they train for a lineworker career,” said Price. “I am proud to see my students join our metro region team as helpers because they finished just as strong as they started. I trust they will have a successful career with us.”
This year, Entergy New Orleans hired six of the fourteen graduates of the 2021 training program. The other graduates have joined Entergy Louisiana and contract companies. Since the program began, Price has helped graduate and onboard 13 employees for Entergy New Orleans.
In their new career, the six lineworker helpers will work with different crews in distribution operations setting poles, installing services, digging and pulling underground services, and transferring poles in order to be promoted to mechanics.
The Certified Lineworker Training program provides the foundation for all individuals to begin a career as a helper/apprentice for an electric utility company. Interested in joining the Entergy team? Visit jobs.entergy.com/.
