Overview
The Electrical program is designed to prepare students for employment as electrical workers. In general, this means teaching students the skills they need to obtain employment as electrical apprentices, with the eventual goal of becoming licensed journeyman electricians. Many related career options exist, including utility workers, electrical engineers, alarm techs, phone and data techs. Shop instruction will challenge students to complete hands on projects that represent jobsite installations. These projects simulate installations found in residential, commercial and industrial settings. Students that attend Taconic for four years will earn over 1,200 hours of the 8,000 work hours required to obtain a journeyman electrician’s license. Four-year students can also earn 300 related (classroom) hours of the required 600 hours required for a journeyman electrician’s license. Lessons will integrate electrical competencies as well as Mass Building Code requirements as they apply to electrical systems such as smoke detectors and other life safety systems. Students will become familiar with Mass. General Laws MGL 141 and Code of Mass. Regulations CMR 237 as they apply to electrical licensing in Mass. Eligible students may go on cooperative education during their junior and senior years. Classroom (related) instruction will focus on safety, electrical theory, National Electrical Code, wiring methods and practical math applications that are directly related to the electrical industry.
VTE Framework: Electricity
Grade 9
Freshmen will be taught construction and electrical safety. The freshmen year will focus on electrical theory. Electrical theory lessons will include circuit principles and diagrams; AC & DC fundamentals as they apply to motors, generators and transformers; and formulas, such as Ohm's Law, Kirchhoff’s Law and the rules of voltage and current dividers. Electrical theory will also cover grounding and bonding requirements. Related instruction will include wiring requirements of the National Electrical Code, including practical math, such as volume fill of boxes and conduits as well as conductor ampacities. Skills learned in the related classroom will be practiced in shop projects, including identification of various tools and materials. Students will also receive instruction on proper use of hand and power tools to ensure safe operation. Multimeter functions and usage will be taught, and students will apply this knowledge on a daily basis when testing and troubleshooting projects.
Grade 10
Grade 10 lessons will challenge students to expand on knowledge learned in Grade 9, requiring students to complete more complex projects. These projects include differing wiring methods, such as NM and MC Cable, as well as tubing and conduit projects. These projects will build on circuit comprehension learned in the freshman year and will require them to apply NEC® rules to electrical installations. More in-depth lessons of circuit breakers and fuses, as well as motors and generators, will be taught during the sophomore year. Blueprint reading will begin during the sophomore year. Ohm’s Law knowledge will be applied to compute circuit load calculations. Safety lessons will include online OSHA-10 construction training; students that pass online testing will earn an OSHA-10 card.
Grade 11
Grade 11 shop projects will include service entrances, buck-boost and isolation transformers, relays and contactors, motor controls and in-depth grounding and bonding requirements as applied to services and transformers. Projects will include more conduit installations and various wiring methods. Shop projects will be more diversified, as students will be working on more commercial and industrial projects, as well as residential projects.
Related lessons will focus on NEC ® requirements that apply to shop projects. Students will apply NEC ® requirements in order to perform dwelling unit load calculations, demand factors, conduit and box fill calculations. Motor controls, wiring of single and three-phase motors and sizing of motor conductors will be introduced in conjunction with motor lessons in shop. Students may also work on outside projects such as Habitat for Humanity.
Employability skills will be stressed during the Junior year. Students will create an electronic portfolio and also create a bill of material and labor record for shop projects.
Overall progress of shop and classroom competencies will be assessed through project grades, classwork and tests. Junior students that have met school requirements and have demonstrated strong work ethic and knowledge will be eligible for cooperative education.
Grade 12
Grade 12 shop and related lessons will build upon previous knowledge. Lessons of the NEC® will be covered in more detail as it applies to all installations. Projects will challenge the students to improve efficiency of already established skills, and improve employability skills. Lessons will include: conductor sizing and overcurrent protection calculations, motor and air conditioning calculations, voltage drop calculations, single and multi-family dwelling unit calculations, commercial load calculations and transformer calculations. Students may work on outside projects such as Habitat for Humanity.
Training/ Skills You will Learn:
• OSHA 10 Construction Safety and Health
• Electrical Theory
• Residential Wiring Methods
• Commercial Wiring Methods
• Industrial Wiring Methods
• Motor Controls
• How to navigate and understand the NEC®
Career Opportunities
Electrical Apprentice working toward a Journeyman license.
Salaries vary depending on experience throughout apprenticeship. Some may start at minimum wage, others may start at anywhere from $13-$15 per hour; however, vocational students who demonstrate knowledge and ability may start between $16-$18 per hour. Raises would be incremental dependent on work performance.
Electrician journeyman
A Journeyman can earn approx. $82,000 per year with benefits. Students that attend vocational school have the ability to obtain a journeyman license in fewer than four years
Engineering degrees
College degrees in engineering can be earned by students that attend four-year colleges and universities.