Questions to Ask Electrician Vocational Schools<\/strong><\/h3>\nNow that you have decided to earn a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to focus your school options. Since there are numerous electrician tech and trade schools in the Piedmont AL region, it’s imperative to have a checklist of criteria that each school must satisfy. The first 2 that we mentioned were location and tuition expense. If you are interested in earning an degree online, then that needs to be an option that your final school offers. And although all three qualifiers may be important when making your decision, there are other factors that must be considered as well. Below is a checklist of those additional qualifications that you will need to research before selecting an electrical tech school.<\/p>\n
Accreditation. <\/strong>Many electrician trade schools have attained either a regional or a national accreditation. They can earn Institutional Accreditation, which involves the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which relates to a specific program, for example electrical technology. Confirm that the Piedmont AL program is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education acknowledged accrediting organization, which includes the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping ensure that you obtain a superior education, it can help in securing financial assistance or student loans, which are frequently unavailable for non-accredited programs. Additionally, a number of states require that the electrician training program be accredited in order to be approved for licensing.<\/p>\nHigh Completion and Placement Rates. <\/strong>Ask the electrician schools you are reviewing what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students who enroll in and complete the program. A lower completion rate may signify that students were dissatisfied with the course and dropped out. It may also indicate that the teachers were not competent to train the students. It’s also important that the schools have higher job placement rates. Older and\/or more reputable schools may have a broader list of alumni, which can produce more contacts for the school to use for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate can not only confirm that the school has a good reputation within the industry, but additionally that it has the network of contacts to help Piedmont AL grads acquire apprenticeships or jobs.<\/p>\nApprenticeship Programs. <\/strong>Numerous electrician technical programs are taught in conjunction with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating vocational and technical schools will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrician businesses or labor unions. Ask if the schools you are considering have referring relationships with Piedmont AL area electricians or electrical companies. An apprenticeship not only offers a rewarding experience by providing practical training, but it also supplies job opportunities and helps to form relationships in the area electrician professional community.<\/p>\nModern Facilities. <\/strong>Make sure that the school facilities and the tools that you will be trained on are up-to-date and what you will be working with on the job. If you are presently in an internship or an apprenticeship, check with the electrical tech you are working under regarding what you should be looking for. If not, ask a local Piedmont AL electrical company if they can give you some tips. Additionally keep in mind that unless you are willing to move, the school must be within commuting distance of your Piedmont home. Take note that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides the added moving costs there may be increased tuition fees compared to in-state residents.<\/p>\nSmaller Classes. <\/strong>It’s desirable that you receive as much one-on-one training as possible, which can be challenging in larger classes. Ask if you can monitor a couple of the classes so that you can observe how large they are and witness first hand the interaction between students and instructors. Speak to a few of the students and get their comments concerning class sizes and instruction. Finally, talk with some of the teachers and learn what their level of experience is and what degrees or certifications they hold.<\/p>\nFlexible Scheduling. <\/strong>Verify that the class schedules for the schools you are evaluating are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you are only able to go to classes in the evening or on weekends near Piedmont AL, confirm that the programs you are reviewing provide those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make sure that the school you select offers part-time enrollment. Additionally, ask what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, illness or family issues.<\/p>\nConsidering Attending an Electrician School near Piedmont AL?<\/h3>\n
Following is a little bit of background information about the Piedmont AL area.<\/p>\n
Piedmont, Alabama<\/h3>
Piedmont is a city in Calhoun and Cherokee counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population was 4,878 at the 2010 census.[3] It is included in the Anniston-Oxford, Alabama Metropolitan Statistical Area. Many surrounding communities are served by the 36272 ZIP code, including Spring Garden, Rock Run, Knighten's Crossroads, and Nance's Creek. The current mayor is Bill Baker, who was chosen by the city council to lead after elected mayor Rick Freeman resigned due to medical issues.\n<\/p>
The area now known as Piedmont is a community that began in the early 1840s, located at the crossroads of two early post roads. Major Jacob Forney Dailey of North Carolina came to Alabama in 1848 and bought land in present-day Piedmont. Major Dailey named the area Cross Plains, and an official post office with that name was established on September 22, 1851.\n<\/p>
In Reconstruction-era Alabama, an incident at Cross Plains affected race relations and the future of the northeast section of the state for generations as a result of the lynching of William Luke, a northern missionary, and several other men in 1870. In that year, the new northern-owned railroad to connect Washington, D.C. and the North with New Orleans was to have its headquarters near the small northeast Alabama town, at Patona. After the Ku Klux Klan-led lynchings, however, the headquarters was moved, and the town never achieved the dominant position in Calhoun County, with Anniston, founded the next year, achieving that status instead.\n<\/p><\/div>\n