In an ongoing effort to get more people interested in the vital job of operating water and wastewater plants, the Henry County County Water Authority is continuing to partner with Southern Crescent Technical College to train them.
The authority is providing an instructor for the program and also offering incentives for its own employees to enroll in the Water Quality Technician Certification Program, which is open to interested high school graduates. Applications are now being accepted for the spring semester, which begins in January, as well as the summer semester that kicks off next May. Four courses are required to complete the program, and it can be done in two semesters.
HCWA officials announced Nov. 30 that its own Sheila Kern has attained the credentials needed to serve as the program’s instructor in 2022. Kern is a Class 1 operator at the the Tussahaw Water Treatment Plant and won a statewide award in 2020 as a top operator.
Once students complete the four courses, they will continue under Kern’s direction to prepare themselves to take the state exam for the Water or Wastewater Class 3 License, which is the first level of professional accreditation for water and wastewater plant operators, respectively. After passing the state exam, students then need at least three months of on-the-job training in order to complete the final requirements for certification. The authority hopes to provide at least some students with that training through internship or employment at the HCWA.
According to HCWA officials, the Authority is encouraging its own employees currently working in areas outside of water and wastewater treatment to become licensed as a water or wastewater plant operator, as well as new hires who may not have certification.
This “cross training” is part of the HCWA Business Continuity Plan, which aims to have additional employees qualified and capable of operating any of the utility’s two water plants or three wastewater plants, if necessary. Increasing the number of certified plant operators at the Authority provides redundancies in plant operations and flexibility in scheduling during instances of operator absences due to illness or vacation, or in cases of emergencies, such as what the HCWA and other water utilities experienced during the pandemic.
“We are providing incentives for our own employees to consider this Program at Southern Crescent Tech, while also encouraging other potential students in the community to take a look as well, whether they are recent high school graduates or working in another field,” said HCWA general manager Tony V. Carnell. “We are in need of certified plant operators, which are jobs with competitive pay and a bright future for advancement in our industry. Our utility is like many across the state in that we are expecting a talent drain as more of our workforce enters retirement age. So, we are looking for the next generation of water professionals through this partnership.”
For more information on the SCTC Water Quality Technician Certification Program, potential students can contact Kern at 770-914-4431 or sheila.kern@sctech.edu.
