Jersey Central Power & Light, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy Corp., on Wednesday said it hired 29 graduates of its Power Systems Institute, a two-year educational program that helps prepare the next generation of line and substation workers for FirstEnergy’s 10 electric companies.
The new employees include 18 line workers and 11 substation electricians who completed the PSI training programs at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft and Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg.
The cohort is one of the last graduating classes of PSI as the company transitions to a new, paid apprentice program to best meet the needs of future line and substation personnel.
“These men and women have dedicated themselves to their education, and we look forward to these graduates joining our workforce and making lives brighter in the communities we serve,” Jim Fakult, president of FirstEnergy’s New Jersey operations, said.
The new line workers and their hometowns are:
- Mark Amatetti, Califon;
- Braden Bowers, Tatamy, Pennsylvania;
- David Cross, Bangor, Pennsylvania;
- Dylan Deppe, Brick;
- Pedro Diaz, Neptune;
- Kevin Edwards, Aberdeen;
- Ashton Escamilla, Whitehouse Station;
- Patrick Filippini, Boonton;
- Jordan Flores, Dover;
- John Fuino, Brick;
- Travis Lane, New Egypt;
- Paul Mazzella, Trenton;
- Kyle Mesce, Summit;
- Derek Mooney, Parsippany-Troy Hills;
- Vincent Ribinsky Jr., Bayville;
- Nicholas Rosikiewicz, Franklin Park;
- Bryan Thompson, Ledgewood;
- Aaron Yarbrough, Newark.
The new substation employees and their hometowns are:
- Rodney Burke, Barnegat;
- Matthew Contos, Brick;
- Logan DeCanio, Pittstown;
- Ron Horton, Trenton;
- Eugene Kaufmann, Howell;
- Michael Mahan, Ocean;
- Ryan Storm, Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania;
- Matthew Trezza, Morganville;
- John Velazquez-Chiusolo, Wall;
- Matthew Wojciechowski, Sayreville;
- Omar Xochipa, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
All the graduates will be assigned to line and substation shops across JCP&L’s service area. Their work assignments will rotate as part of the training program.
PSI students split time between classes at the two colleges and JCP&L training facilities in Farmingdale and Philipsburg. Since the program’s inception, FirstEnergy has hired more than 2,800 line and substation personnel who completed PSI programs in New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia.
To help address the continuing need for new line workers, FirstEnergy is transitioning to a paid apprentice program that will consist of more on-the-job training with seasoned bargaining unit employees, offer opportunities for relationship-building with local department personnel from the outset of the training program and continue with classroom requirements to gain a deeper understanding of the electric industry.
“PSI has served us well for many years, and we believe an apprenticeship program is more in step with today’s competitive labor market and is being successfully utilized by a number of our peer electric companies,” Fakult said.
