Andy Lane (left) greets his former high school teacher, Dwayne Hobbs, at the Locust Grove Wastewater Treatment Facility. Mr. Hobbs was leading a field trip for Clayton County Schools. Andy has been able to use his construction education to help further his successful career as an electrician.

Lane Excels with West Star Electric

The last person Andy Lane expected to see on the jobsite was his high school technology teacher. But there the two met.

Andy hadn't seen Dwayne Hobbs since he graduated from Morrow High School in 1990. The two quickly caught up. Dwayne Hobbs is now the Assistant Technical Career Education Director for Clayton County. Andy Lane has made a successful career for himself as an Intermediate Journeyman Electrician with West Star Electric.

Mr. Hobbs is seeing to it that every construction student in the Clayton County School System can have the success that Andy Lane has enjoyed. "We're working to get all of our programs accredited through CEFGA. We use the NCCER CONTREN® Curriculum throughout our construction programs. We want to make sure the students have recognized credentials they can take with them wherever they choose to practice their career," Hobbs said.

Working in the electrical trades before he even finished high school, Andy knew that this was the career for him. "I've been all over the southeast working. I've had a great life," Andy said. "I wouldn't trade my experiences for anything." Andy lived in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for awhile. He can find work anywhere he goes.

Intermediate Journeyman Electrician Andy Lane installs a lighting "home run" in a building at the Locust Grove Wastewater Treatment Facility. Sometimes he works by himself, as he is on this day. Sometimes he works as part of a larger team. The work is always interesting and exciting, Andy said.

Asked about his success, Andy insists that the most important thing is attitude. "Show up on time, work hard, treat people fairly. That's all you have to do," he says. Andy shook his head and said he was glad he paid attention to Mr. Hobbs back in high school. "There's more math involved in electrical work than you can imagine. I'm really glad that Mr. Hobbs drilled the math into us in school. I was way ahead of the other guys in the IBEW Apprenticeship Program," Andy said with a wry grin.

There's a bit more to Andy's success than that, though he wouldn't say it himself. Andy was installing a "home run" for the lighting in a building under construction. He was putting a piece of conduit between two junction boxes. Andy took out his level and carefully adjusted the connection until it was perfectly level. Then he secured it firmly. That connection will be level from now on. Will anyone ever go up and check the conduit for level? Probably not. Because when Andy Lane does it, people know it's done right. And that's the main reason he can find work wherever he goes.

Andy is upbeat about the future. "A journeyman makes over $25.00 an hour. The work is always there in construction. I plan to keep on learning the trade and enjoying the life I've made for myself," Andy said. "That's important, enjoying your work. And I do."

CEFGA is a nonprofit organization founded in 1993 by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Georgia (ABC). Today it is supported by more than 3,000 construction companies and trade associations. CEFGA exists to address and help reduce a growing shortage of skilled workers in Georgia - approximately 3,000 per year according to the Georgia Department of Labor. For information visit www.cefga.org or call 770-685-1332.