Powering Futures: OG&E Exposes Career Opportunities To High School Students

A career with OG&E can be very fulfilling and lucrative, and as Southeast High School students found out, there are tons of jobs to choose from.

“They’ve been around about one hundred and twenty-two years, it’s obviously grown into one of the largest companies in Oklahoma,” said OG&E trainer Brent Boles.

The company is recognized nationwide for its iconic orange trucks, offering a much-needed service when the power goes out. But these are skilled jobs, and a lot goes into becoming an OG&E lineman.

“If you walked in off the street and had no experience, no anything, to becoming a journey lineman, it roughly takes about five years,” said Boles.

Through the Careers in Energy program, the students got a chance to tour the OG&E training facility and see the energy giant firsthand.

“Everything from learning how to climb a pole, to wiring up transformers, you know, terminating cables, splicing cables,” said Boles.

“To see something that we use every single day, like when you turn on the light or you charge your phone, just to see how it all works,” said Southeast High School student Joseph Ceron.

Students learned about aspects of the company including jobs they were not familiar with, like the safety of their employees.

The rubber goods are the absolute first line of defense from electrical shock or electrocution.

“One of the things they saw was the safety, that goes into it, and they were like, that’s amazing how they are so concerned about safety,” said Southeast High School teacher Melissa Bullen.

Enlightening for the students as well as the teachers.

“I was just like the kids, I knew that there was the lineman, but I didn’t know all of the opportunities and stuff that were out here,” said Bullen. 

A day of connection for the workers as well as the students.

“When you can kind of talk to them about it and kind of explain to them your experiences and watch that light come on, I love it,” said Boles.

“It is definitely a job I would want to do in the future,” said Ceron.

The program pretty much goes throughout the school year for any high school. For more information, email ogenews@oge.com or call 405-553-3616.