Points to Ask Electrician Tech Schools<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have made a decision to obtain a certificate, diploma or degree, you can begin to refine your school options. Considering that there are numerous electrician tech and trade schools in the Valdez AK region, it’s imperative to have a checklist of criteria that each program must meet. The initial 2 that we discussed were location and the cost of tuition. If you have an interest in earning an degree online, then that must be a feature that your chosen school offers. And although all three qualifiers may be crucial when making your selection, there are other factors that need to be taken into account as well. Below is a checklist of those added qualifiers that you will need to assess prior to choosing an electrical tech school.<\/p>\n
Accreditation. <\/strong>Numerous electrician vocational schools have received either a regional or a national accreditation. They may acquire Institutional Accreditation, which focuses on the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which pertains to an individual program, for example electrical technology. Confirm that the Valdez AK school and program are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved accrediting agency, which includes the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping guarantee that you get a superior education, it can help in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are often unavailable for non-accredited programs. Also, some states require that the electrician training course be accredited for it to be approved for licensing.<\/p>\nHigh Completion and Placement Rates. <\/strong>Ask the electrician training programs you are looking at what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the portion or percentage of students who enroll in and finish the program. A low completion rate may signify that students were unhappy with the program and dropped out. It may also signify that the instructors were not competent to train the students. It’s also imperative that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and\/or more reputable schools may have a more extensive list of graduates, which may result in more contacts for the school to employ for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate will not only validate that the school has a good reputation within the field, but additionally that it has the network of contacts to assist Valdez AK students secure apprenticeships or jobs.<\/p>\nApprenticeship Programs. <\/strong>Numerous electrician vocational programs are taught along with an apprenticeship or an internship program. Those participating trade and vocational programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrical contractors or trade unions. Find out if the schools you are reviewing have referring relationships with Valdez AK area electricians or electrical professionals. An apprenticeship not only offers a valuable experience by supplying hands-on training, but it also provides employment opportunities and helps to build relationships in the regional electrician professional community.<\/p>\nModern Facilities. <\/strong>Make certain that the school facilities and the tools that you will be trained on are up-to-date and what you will be using on the job. If you are already in an internship or an apprenticeship, talk to the electrical technician you are working with concerning what you should be looking for. If not, ask a local Valdez AK electrical contracting company if they can provide some suggestions. Also keep in mind that unless you are able to relocate, the school must be within commuting distance of your Valdez home. Remember that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, besides the added relocation costs there might be increased tuition charges compared to in-state residents.<\/p>\nSmaller Classes. <\/strong>It’s desirable that you get as much one-on-one training as possible, which can be challenging in larger classes. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of the classes so that you can see how big they are and experience the interaction between students and teachers. Speak to several of the students and get their comments relating to class sizes and instruction. Finally, speak to a few of the teachers and find out what their level of experience is and what certifications or degrees they hold.<\/p>\nFlexible Scheduling. <\/strong>Confirm that the class schedules for the programs you are assessing are flexible enough to handle your needs. If you can only attend classes in the evening or on weekends near Valdez AK, verify that the schools you are considering offer those choices. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, make certain that the school you select permits part-time enrollment. Additionally, check out what the protocol is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, illness or family responsibilities.<\/p>\nConsidering Attending an Electrician School near Valdez AK?<\/h3>\n
Following is a little bit of background information about the Valdez AK area.<\/p>\n
Valdez, Alaska<\/h3>
Valdez (\/v\u00e6l\u02c8di\u02d0z, v\u0259l\u02c8d\u025bz\/; Alutiiq: Suacit) is a city in Valdez-Cordova Census Area in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to the 2010 US Census, the population of the city is 3,976. The city was named in 1790 after the Spanish Navy Minister Antonio Vald\u00e9s y Fern\u00e1ndez Baz\u00e1n. A former Gold Rush town, it is located at the head of a fjord on the eastern side of Prince William Sound. The port did not flourish until after the road link to Fairbanks was constructed in 1899. It suffered huge damage during the 1964 Alaska earthquake, and is located near the site of the disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil tanker spill. Today it is one of the most important ports in Alaska, a commercial fishing port as well as a freight terminal.<\/p>
The port of Valdez was named in 1790 by the Spanish explorer Salvador Fidalgo after the Spanish naval officer Antonio Vald\u00e9s y Fern\u00e1ndez Baz\u00e1n.[4] A scam to lure prospectors off the Klondike Gold Rush trail led to a town being developed there in 1898. Some steamship companies promoted the Valdez Glacier Trail as a better route for miners to reach the Klondike gold fields and discover new ones in the Copper River country of interior Alaska than that from Skagway. The prospectors who believed the promotion found that they had been deceived. The glacier trail was twice as long and steep as reported, and many men died attempting the crossing, in part by contracting scurvy during the long cold winter without adequate supplies. The town did not flourish until after the construction of the Richardson Highway in 1899, which connected Valdez and Fairbanks. With a new road and its ice-free port, Valdez became permanently established as the first overland supply route into the interior of Alaska. The highway was open in summer-only until 1950, when it was operated as a year-round route.[5]<\/p>
In 1907, a shootout between two rival railroad companies ended Valdez's hope of becoming the railroad link from tidewater to the Kennicott Copper Mine. The mine, located in the heart of the Wrangell-St.Elias Mountains, was one of the richest copper ore deposits on the continent. The exact location of the right-of-way dispute, in which one man was killed and several injured, is located at the southern entrance of Keystone Canyon on the Valdez side. A half-completed tunnel in the canyon marks the end of railroad days in Valdez. A rail line to Kennicott was later established from the coastal city of Cordova.[5]<\/p><\/div>\n