Mardy Madison, owner of Seven Peaks Electric Inc., of Bend, knows firsthand the shortage of qualified electricians in Central Oregon.

“We have a labor shortage,” he said Wednesday. “When we had the recession, we basically lost a lot of our workforce.”

To train more electricians, the apprenticeship program in Central Oregon is accepting applications from Aug. 21 to Sept. 1. Madison is chairman of the Area 7 Inside Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee. The committee works through a private contractor, High Desert Apprenticeship Inc., of Bend, to collect applications, track the apprentices as they move through training and pay the program bills.

“This apprenticeship program does not accept applications very often,” said Ursie Chamberlain, administrator of High Desert Apprenticeship. “Right now, the problem is the electrical contractors that I have cannot get any journeyworkers.”

A fully fledged electrician that’s passed the apprenticeship program is a journeyman, or journeyworker. Not only are journeyworkers considered qualified to work on a job site, they are also required to oversee work by apprentices in ratios set by the Oregon State Apprenticeship and Training Council. So without enough journeyworkers on site, it’s tough to train apprentices, said Madison, Chamberlain and Jeff Hauck, the apprenticeship representative at WorkSource Oregon in Bend.

“If there were more licensed journeyworkers, there could be more apprentices,” Hauck said Wednesday.

Minimum qualifications for the inside electrician program — those that wire homes and commercial structures, among other things, as opposed to those working with high voltage — are few. Applicants must be at least 18. They must be high school graduates or hold a GED. And, they must have completed one full year of high school or post-high school algebra and earned a C or better.

The program is competitive. Applicants are scored according to past educational experience or training, veteran status or other criteria. All applicants are interviewed by a four-member panel, the results of which are added to the score.

“Anything that’s applicable to the trade is going to be looked on favorably,” Hauck said. “The minimum qualification will get you on the list, even if you blow the interview out of the water.”

Minorities and women are encouraged to apply and the program is subject to affirmative action goals set by the state, Hauck said. Participation by women in Central Oregon typically falls below the statewide target, although minorities fare better, he said.

“Looking at the state, female participation has been around 7.5 to 8 percent for all trades,” he said.

Applicants are ranked according to their scores. A high ranking could mean the applicant gets into the program quickly, although a wait of one or two years is not uncommon, Hauck said.

The program itself lasts four to five years, during which the apprentice is paid about $14 an hour. In addition to the 8,000-hour on-the-job training requirement, apprentices must also attend night school twice a week for another 576 hours, Chamberlain said.

Madison said the shortage of electricians is more complicated than simple economics. Oregon licensing standards are tough, “a lot more stringent than other states,” he said. Plus, many electricians, like other craftsmen and women in building trades, left the area during the Great Recession. Applicants on the apprentice program list found other occupations. The high cost of living in Bend dissuades many from working in an area once considered an affordable place to live, Madison said.

“I’ve had to change the way I take on work,” he said, especially small jobs or homeowners who need repairs or renovations. “It’s harder to commit to any of those in order to stay with my contractors (that) I’ve been with a long time. Juggling work is an ongoing problem.”

— Reporter: 541-617-7815, jditzler@bendbulletin.com

Interested? Here’s how to apply

• What: Inside Electrical Apprenticeship Program

• When: Aug. 21 to Sept. 1

• Where: WorkSource Oregon, 1645 NE Forbes Road, Suite 106, Bend; applicants must obtain an application packet in person during the application period.

• On the web: www.highdesertapprenticeship.com