Bright futures await 18 highly skilled graduates of the Power Plant Technology Institute developed by Miami Dade College (MDC) and Florida Power & Light Company, in partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
During a recent new hire ceremony, Homestead Campus president Dr. Jeanne Jacobs and FPL Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant maintenance planning manager Kevin O’Hare officially hired 15 students, presenting them with letters of employment and their first FPL hard hats.
Four of the students will be the first program graduates to be hired by FPL for careers in the Transmission and Substation Department, working in the construction and operation of the infrastructure needed to distribute electricity.
FPL also recognized three employees from the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant who enrolled in the program to enhance their skills.
“The future of energy relies on a new generation of highly skilled individuals, and FPL is pleased to partner with MDC to offer this important training to these graduates, I’m proud to welcome them to FPL,” O’Hare said.
“Our program is a national leader in energy education,” Dr. Jacobs said. “At a time when the nuclear industry is in critical need of new, highly trained workers, our partnership with FPL allows us to increase the number of technicians entering the field of nuclear power.”
The graduates of the two-year program received a comprehensive education in power plant operations and technologies, gaining hands-on experience through a paid summer internship at the Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant and earning an Associate in Science degree. The new hires will begin their new jobs this summer with full-time positions at FPL’s Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant or at an FPL substation. Since the program’s inception five years ago, 94 graduates have been hired or advanced by FPL. Students in the program choose to major in one of the following areas: instrumentation and controls, electrical maintenance, mechanical maintenance, and the new specialization in transmission and substation. Program classes are conducted at the MDC Homestead Campus.
For more information about the program, contact Dr. Richard White, director of MDC’s School of Engineering and Technology, at 305-237-3735 or send email to rwhite@mdc.edu
