The Middleborough Gas & Electric Department, a Massachusetts public power utility, recently welcomed two new co-op students from Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School. The students will be working in the utility’s Gas and Electric Departments.
MGED and Bristol Plymouth Vocational High School have joined together to create a Co-Op program designed to give a hands-on experience to high school students who are interested in learning more about the inner workings of a municipal public utility.
The goal of the program is to educate and inform students of career opportunities in their community.
Matt Berard is working in the Gas Department as part of his plumbing vocational education. He will shadow technicians with customer service calls, learning skills in gas line installations, appliance hookups and more.
John Hanley is working in the Electric Department as part of his electrical vocational training. He will shadow electricians with service connections, wiring, troubleshooting, and gaining field experience in electrical infrastructure.
“Municipally owned gas and electric companies are facing a wave of retirements of long-time, highly skilled staff, and in order to manage the transition we welcome an opportunity to introduce students like Matt and John to municipal utility operations.” said MGED General Manager Jackie Crowley.
The co-op program allows these students to earn high school credits while getting real-world job experience at MGED. It helps the municipal utility train and mentor the next generation of skilled utility workers, it noted.
“We are excited to have Matt and John join the MGED staff as co-op students in order to learn what a locally-owned Municipal Electric & Gas Utility has to offer,” said MGED’s Assistant General Manager Ken Stone. “As a former Northeastern University co-op student myself, I did my co-op through another Municipal Electric Utility and I understand the importance of the co-op program to the utility workforce. I would not be working for MGED today had it not been for the co-op learning experience.”
The Bristol Plymouth students will work part-time at MGED while completing their technical coursework.
Berard noted that on Oct. 24 he spent time with a member of the Gas Service Staff doing service checks.
“It’s really interesting seeing all of the infrastructure and routine safety checks that happen behind the scenes. I knew that safety is the top priority in the gas industry and it was good to see how seriously it’s taken in the real world,” he said.
While I’ve learned how to wire homes and businesses, I’m excited to gain some knowledge about the distribution side of the electric industry,” said Hanley.
“Before I knew the Middleborough Gas & Electric Department was offering a Co-Op program, I had actually reached out to show interest in doing my Co-Op here. I’d love to work here after graduation and it’s all worked out great,” he said.
