Job Corps students tour new MEA power plant

EKLUTNA — Alaska Job Corps students and Matanuska Electric Association participated in the National Job Corps Job Shadow Day. Twenty-eight electrical students of the local Job Corps were given a first-hand look at MEA’s new Eklutna Generation Station.

In addition to a tour, students learned about a variety of jobs in the electric industry as well as how the larger electrical system plays a role in their future trade, according to Julie Estey, MEA Director of Public Relations.

“We were honored to invest our time in these young adults,” she said. “The utility industry is a major provider of high quality jobs in the state and we were happy to provide insight on what it takes to deliver power to homes and businesses. For MEA, it was also an invaluable opportunity to teach our state’s future electricians about the electrical grid so they can help our members interface safely and efficiently with the larger system.”

Barbara Hunt, the Alaska Job Corps Business Community Liaison, said “students were all abuzz about the tour of the MEA power plant. They marveled at the size of the equipment and the site construction. The impressive wiring and piping was a fantastic array and it hit home for the students because this is part of their training.”

Job Corps is a no-cost education and career technical training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that helps young men and women ages 16 to 24 improve the quality of their lives through career, technical and academic training.

For more information, visit alaska.jobcorps.gov