Sean Kramer shares his experience with the MMUA Apprentice Program

From Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association (MMUA); published in The Resource, Volume 29, No. 7; Jul-Aug-Sept 2024

Sean Kramer, a resident of Langford, South Dakota, has lived there for 21 years. He works for the Town of Langford as Utility Manager and Fire Chief, and he is also an apprentice lineworker. Sean spoke to MMUA about his experience with the program and what it has taught him.

MMUA: Tell me about your educational/professional background in the utilities field before entering the apprenticeship program.

Sean Kramer: I started my career in the construction industry. I did concrete work, built houses and pole barns, and did commercial glass work or my first four years after college. In June of 2019, I took a job with the Town of Langford. I got to know the water and sewer system well during two big projects in my first couple of years. In May 2021, the manager quit, and I moved to utilities manager. 

MMUA: How did you come to learn about the MMUA Apprenticeship Program?

Sean: I had a basic understanding of the system. I wanted to further my knowledge and safely be able to do some simple maintenance work. Heartland Energy had incentives at the same time to get into the program, and so I started in January 2022.

MMUA: How has the program been so far? What have been some interesting things that you’ve learned?

Sean: The program has been great. We have done everything from metering, regular system maintenance to changing out a pole, adding a three-phase riser to the pole, and going to a new underground transformer.

MMUA: What unique skills have you learned that you use, or eventually will use at your utility?

Sean: Safety. We never had a full-time lineman or anyone with lineman experience at our utility and things were done kind of “western.”

MMUA: What would you tell other students about the apprenticeship program?

Sean: This is a great program to expand your knowledge. It brings more to the table and helps make you a better employee. 

About the Apprenticeship Program

MMUA has developed a cost-effective and user-friendly program to help utilities develop a raw, first-year apprentice into a fully qualified journeyman lineworker. This innovative, four-year program brings top-notch teaching and hands-on skill development to your system.

The course allows the municipal utility employee who wants to advance in the lineworker’s trade to receive professional training from experienced instructors, right at the utility site. Students are given a cutting-edge academic program along with extensive hands-on training to help them progress to journeyman status. Program timing is flexible and training typically takes place one or two days a month. This training often involves actual projects on your distribution system. Students also attend several MMUA schools, tuition free.

To learn more, visit mmua.org/apprenticeship.