Michigan program trains prisoners to trim around power lines abc12.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from abc12.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A Michigan energy company's planned program allows prisoners to be trained to climb trees and perform other necessary skills for post-release employment maintaining power lines.
They look like your typical journeymen, but these men are actually inmates. They’re part of a special program aimed at giving incarcerated men a potential opportunity of a lifetime, a second chance.
New DTE program trains tree trimmers in Detroit
Job-seekers unafraid of heights have a new opportunity to climb the career ladder starting with trees.
DTE Energy Co. on Thursday introduced its new Tree Trim Academy in Detroit. The six-week program seeks to prepare workers, especially Detroiters, to become tree trimmers needed to help prevent power outages.
Applicants apply through nonprofit Focus: HOPE for the program. It comes with no financial cost, and students earn a stipend of $50 per day for the first two weeks and $100 per day for the final four. The academy has graduated its first 10 students, nine of whom already have jobs lined up. The job can position workers for other employment in the industry, including overhead line work, at substations and more.