Apprenticeships
Skilled trade workers keep our systems running and our energy flowing. And many of them learned the tools of their trade right here at Idaho Power. From lineworkers and generation specialists to stations and meter technicians (and more!), our apprenticeship programs prepare the future of our workforce to provide safe, reliable, clean energy for the communities we serve.
Perks of an Idaho Power Apprenticeship
Work in the great outdoors.
Learn an in-demand trade safely.
Earn a competitive salary.
Accrue generous paid time off.
Enjoy excellent health benefits for you and your family.
Earn 45 credits toward an associate degree.
Types of Apprenticeships
Job Summary
Under direct supervision, the pre-apprentice lineworker or apprentice lineworker performs new construction and maintenance work on overhead and underground distribution and transmission lines.
Examples of duties
- Build and maintain distribution lines (overhead and underground), transmission lines and facilities, both energized and de-energized.
- Assist in planning jobs to ensure compliance with approved safety and construction standards and procedures.
- Maintain work records and assist in stocking work vehicles and maintaining tools and equipment.
- Drive, maintain and operate work vehicles; properly station them for the work to be done.
You might excel in this career path if you…
- Love doing hands-on, physical work in the great outdoors while gaining technical knowledge and operating heavy equipment.
- Enjoy an exciting and changing work environment where day-to-day tasks vary.
- Have a passion for safety and a desire to be part of a community of first responders when issues or emergencies disrupt our power supply.
How to get your foot in the door
- Earn a high school diploma/GED.
- Graduate from a recognized lines school (e.g., Northwest Lineman College).
- Obtain a CDL/DOT Medical Card.
Job Summary
The station technician pre-apprentice or apprentice works with their team to learn the mechanics, operation, construction, maintenance, testing, troubleshooting, installation and repair of electrical station equipment.
Examples of duties
- Perform maintenance and repair of apparatus, equipment and station facilities.
- Assist with emergency operation of stations and station equipment.
- Move power transformers and regulators, including oil handling, loading, unloading, refilling and preparing for service.
- Maintain power transformers and regulators, including switching equipment out of service, wiring, replacing gaskets, grounding, rebussing and other work required to return equipment to service.
You might excel in this career path if you…
- Love hands-on, physical work both indoors and outdoors. Enjoy using your technical knowledge and experience to troubleshoot, repair and maintain equipment and facilities.
- Enjoy an exciting and changing work environment where day-to-day tasks vary.
- Have a passion for safety and a desire to be part of a community of first responders when issues or emergencies disrupt our power supply.
How to get your foot in the door
- Earn a high school diploma/GED.
- Have two or more years work experience in an electrical, mechanical, maintenance or construction field OR equivalent experience/ education, such as a vocational degree in electronics or mechanical maintenance, a journeyworker electrician license or related military experience.
- Obtain a CDL/DOT Medical Card.
Job Summary
This program prepares future generation specialists to operate and maintain our 17 hydropower facilities located along the Snake River and its tributaries.
Examples of duties
- Operate and maintain dams, waterways, intakes, spillways, penstocks, canals, gates, turbine runners, bulkheads and other related equipment.
- Design, fabricate, assemble, install and perform modifications to existing and new equipment.
- Perform preventive and corrective maintenance on power facilities, buildings, hatcheries, roads and parks. Return equipment to service.
You might excel in this career path if you…
- Love a hands-on environment operating and maintaining dams, waterways, turbines, generators, cranes and hoists, and building wiring.
- Enjoy a career that blends electrical, mechanical, construction principles, equipment operation and welding to operate and maintain power plants — including emergency response to troubleshoot and repair complex power plant equipment.
- Have a passion for safety, like working in a team-based environment and enjoy mentoring others.
How to get your foot in the door
- Earn a high school diploma/GED.
- Have one year of demonstrated experience in mechanical, maintenance or construction field with direct experience in electrical, generation, power plants, mechanical, hydraulic or welding OR equivalent education, work experience or military training.
- Obtain a DOT Medical Card (for some locations).
Job Summary
Under supervision, the communication technician apprentice ensures secure operation of the interconnected electrical power system by installing, commissioning, troubleshooting, repairing, testing and maintaining communications systems.
Examples of duties
- Perform communications site maintenance, including battery and emergency power systems.
- Maintain the communications database (CommData) with new equipment, test data, new test plans and schematic changes.
- Provision microwave communication channels and Multi-Protocol Label Switching circuits.
- Assist project teams with scoping, detailed design review, shop panel testing, project construction and commissioning.
- Respond to system emergency situations.
You might excel in this career path if you…
- Love a hands-on environment where you can apply strong technical knowledge or electronic theory and computer network knowledge to troubleshoot digital microwave systems, twoway radios, and satellite and fiber-optic systems.
- Enjoy a career where you can blend technical electronic theory to perform maintenance, testing and operation of electronic communications systems.
- Have a passion for safety, enjoy mentoring others and like a changing work environment where you may respond to emergency situations, snowshoe into remote conditions and climb communications towers of up to 140 feet.
How to get your foot in the door
- Earn high school diploma/GED.
- Have an associate degree in electronics OR an equivalent work history, military experience or education.
- Have two or more years of work experience maintaining electronic communications equipment.
Job Summary
Under supervision, the generation technician apprentice performs the necessary functions to maintain power plant apparatus and provides technical support to generation plants in the procurement, installation and programming of new equipment.
Examples of duties
- Design, install, maintain and test power plant equipment and control systems, including voltage regulators, governors, circuit breaker mechanisms and controls, generator control and protection instrumentation schemes, instrumentation, generator and exciter windings and power line carrier and intelligent electronic equipment.
- Install and maintain various communications systems, including digital microwave radios and multiplex equipment, very high frequency and ultra high frequency radios, fiber optics, telemetry, power line carriers and protective relaying channel equipment and supervisory control and data acquisition equipment.
- Install and maintain HVAC equipment, including power plant HVAC systems, fish hatchery water chiller, walk-in coolers, ice machines and commercial refrigerators.
You might excel in this career path if you…
- Love a hands-on environment where you can provide technical support to generation plants and related equipment.
- Enjoy a career where you can blend electronics and electrical fundamentals to design, install, maintain and test power plant equipment and control systems.
- Have a passion for safety, like working in a team-based environment, enjoy mentoring others and welcome situations where you might respond to emergencies.
How to get your foot in the door
- Earn high school dimploma/GED.
- Have an associate degree in electronics OR demonstrated equivalent work history, military experience or education that provides the desired knowledge in electrical fundamentals, control circuits, solid-state theory and programming/troubleshooting communications systems.
- Obtain a DOT Medical Card (for some locations).
Job Summary
Under direct guidance, line operations technician apprentices are responsible for the installation, operation and maintenance of line relays and controls, remote device communication systems and distribution automation systems.
Examples of duties
- Participate in support and operation of advanced distribution automation systems, including the Advanced Capacitor Control (ACC) system and Integrated Volt/Var Control system (IVVC). Oversee the installation of growth-related capacitor banks.
- Interact with large commercial and industrial customers to set up and troubleshoot automated switching schemes.
- Collect field measurements of feeder loadings and voltage levels for model verification and calibration.
- Train teams and line crews on lines equipment and controls.
You might excel in this career path if you…
- Love a physical environment where you can apply technical knowledge or electronic theory and advanced mathematics to install, maintain and test lines system operations and line equipment controls.
- Enjoy a career where you can blend technical electronic theory with distribution construction methods and perform setup, programming and troubleshooting on lines electronics equipment.
- Have a passion for safety, enjoy mentoring others and like working in a changing work environment where you may respond to emergency situations.
How to get your foot in the door
- Earn a high school diploma/GED.
- Have an associate degree in electronics OR equivalent work history, military experience or education.
- Have two or more years recent experience in an electrical, mechanical, maintenance, operations or related field.
Job Summary
Under direct guidance, meter technician apprentices learn to plan, coordinate and perform meter site verifications, metering installations, planned and unplanned metering maintenance, and meter accuracy testing.
Examples of duties
- Perform verification and testing of metering equipment and installations, including selfcontained secondary, 480-volt (V) metering, transformer-rated secondary, transformerrated primary, transformer-rated substation and transformer-rated transmission station.
- Energize and de-energize distribution and service facilities to facilitate metering installations, maintenance, and customer connections and disconnections.
- Perform field collections and communicate with customers and other stakeholders regarding metering issues.
You might excel in this career path if you…
- Love applying electrical or electronic theory in a hands-on way to install, maintain and test electromechanical or electronic devices while working outdoors from ladders, poles and aerial lift devices. Operate small power and hand tools and occasionally ATVs/UTVs/snowmobiles.
- Enjoy the application of mathematical problem solving to troubleshoot AC and DC systems.
- Have a passion for safety, enjoy mentoring others and like working in a changing environment where you may respond to emergency situations.
How to get your foot in the door
- Earn a high school diploma/GED.
- Have an associate degree in electronics OR equivalent experience, such as two years of experience applying electrical/electronic theory, performing installation/maintenance/operation of electrical and electronic test equipment or related military experience.
- Obtain a DOT Medical Card.
Job Summary
Under supervision, the relay technician apprentice ensures secure operation of interconnected electrical power system operations by installing, commissioning, troubleshooting, repairing, testing and maintaining power system monitoring equipment and protective relay, control and communication systems.
Examples of duties
- Commission and maintain system protection devices (called relays), support equipment and control systems that monitor the power system for reliability and disturbances.
- Assist the System Protection and Distribution Engineering teams in scoping, design and testing of relay devices, as well as provide quality assurance for design installations of control wiring and power system schemes at transmission and distribution stations.
- Respond to emergencies, including troubleshooting and repair of substation relays, support equipment and control schemes.
You might excel in this career path if you…
- Love an environment where you can apply strong technical knowledge to troubleshoot electrical and electronic circuits and interface with microprocessor-based equipment utilizing a variety of software programs.
- Enjoy a career with a blend of engineeringlevel electrical and electronic theory to operate, test and troubleshoot relaying equipment.
- Have a passion for safety, enjoy mentoring others, and can keep pace with the latest technologies of an ever-changing industry.
How to get your foot in the door
- Earn a high school diploma/GED.
- Earn an associate degree in electronics OR equivalent work history, military experience, or education.
- Have two or more years work experience in a related field in electronics or electric power Industry (such as an Idaho Power’s Substation Specialist or Meter Technician).
Apprenticeship applicants must be at least 18 years old and meet all basic requirements as outlined above and listed on each job posting.
Why Choose Idaho Power
Apprentices spend three to four years working on our crews to learn their trade and everything it takes to power our communities. While they’re learning, we provide excellent pay and benefits, stable employment, career-advancement opportunities and the chance to make an impact in their communities. Simply put, apprentices get paid to learn!
We invest a lot in our apprentices, including the opportunity to train at our state-of-the-art Skills Training Center. Through a combination of on-the-job training, classroom learning and specialized certifications, our apprentices graduate from their programs ready to work anywhere in the energy industry. But many of our apprentices choose to stay on at Idaho Power, where we value safety, teamwork and innovation.
A Lifetime Achievement
At the end of your apprenticeship, you’ll have:
- The experience and certification you need to work anywhere in the United States
- A stable, rewarding career to support your lifestyle and your family
- The opportunity to turn your experience into an associate degree
Questions?
See our Frequently Asked Questions for application process instructions. If you have additional questions or would like more information, email apprenticeship@vahnet.net.
Learn more about what to expect from an apprenticeship and career opportunities in the energy industry by visiting getintoenergy.com.