Learning about career opportunities in the electrical field is something that Keys High School senior Andrew Morgans is taking advantage of this year in a new program at the Indian Capital Technology Center in Tahlequah.

“I worked for a guy who did remodeling, and I saw an electrician at work and thought that looked neat. So I looked up what electricians do exactly and how they do it and it seemed really interesting. Then I came across this program at ICTC and the next thing I know I’m signing up for it,” said Andrew.

The program is under the direction of Jesse Stillwell who is excited to be instructing electricians-to-be.

“I’ve been a journeyman electrician and a project manager for over 20 years. This is my first teaching job and it seemed like the right time to do it because there is such a demand nationwide for qualified electricians,” said Stillwell. “This is a two-year program for high school students with our goal being to get them their apprentice license so they can go to work right away for a contractor. That also gets them 1050 hours of credit towards the 8000 hours needed to become a journeyman.”

Andrew says that one of the hardest things to learn so far is all the building codes that have to be adhered to. But the hands-on learning he gets at ICTC is like learning the plays in football, which he plays at Keys.

“The hands-on learning and the repetition is definitely the best way for me to learn just like it is in football. And just like in sports you develop a mentality of where you’re expected to be at a practice whether it’s at 5AM or whenever and that’s how I want to be in this profession-reliable and dependable.”

Morgans says he plans to get his apprentice license and work for a couple of years and then see what direction in the electrical field he wants to go, and his instructor says he’s well on his way.

“Drew is a fantastic student who learns quickly, does good work, is very detail-oriented and I think he’ll go places in this field,” said Stillwell.