What to Ask Electrician Vocational Schools<\/strong><\/h3>\nWhen you have made a decision to earn a certificate, diploma or degree, you can start to narrow down your training options. Considering that there are so many electrician vocational and trade schools in the Antioch IL area, it’s essential to have a checklist of qualifications that each program must meet. The first two that we discussed were location and the cost of tuition. If you have an interest in earning an online degree, then that must be a feature that your chosen school offers. And while all three qualifiers may be crucial when making your selection, there are additional variables that must be taken into account as well. Following is a checklist of those additional qualifiers that you will need to assess prior to choosing an electrical tech school.<\/p>\n
Accreditation. <\/strong>Many electrician trade programs have received either a regional or a national accreditation. They can acquire Institutional Accreditation, which focuses on the school’s programs as a whole, or Programmatic Accreditation, which pertains to an individual program, for instance electrical technology. Make certain that the Antioch IL program and school are accredited by a U.S. Department of Education approved accrediting organization, which includes the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition to helping make certain that you acquire an excellent education, it can assist in obtaining financial assistance or student loans, which are in many cases not available for non-accredited schools. Furthermore, many states mandate that the electrician training course be accredited in order to be approved for licensing.<\/p>\nHigh Completion and Placement Rates. <\/strong>Ask the electrician training programs you are looking at what their completion rates are. The completion rate is the percentage of students who enroll in and complete the course. A low completion rate may indicate that students were dissatisfied with the course and dropped out. It might also signify that the instructors were not qualified to train the students. It’s similarly imperative that the schools have high job placement rates. Older and\/or more reputable schools may have a broader list of graduates, which may produce more contacts for the school to utilize for their apprenticeship and job placement programs. A high job placement rate can not only confirm that the school has an excellent reputation within the field, but also that it has the network of contacts to assist Antioch IL students obtain apprenticeships or employment.<\/p>\nApprenticeship Programs. <\/strong>Many electrician trade programs are taught in conjunction with an internship or an apprenticeship program. Those participating technical and vocational programs will help place you in an apprenticeship program inside their network of electrical contractors or trade unions. Find out if the schools you are comparing have referring relationships with Antioch IL area electricians or electrical companies. An apprenticeship not only offers a rewarding experience by providing hands-on training, but it also furnishes employment opportunities and helps to establish relationships in the regional electrician professional community.<\/p>\nModern Facilities. <\/strong>Make certain that the campus facilities and the equipment that you will be trained on are up-to-date and what you will be using on the job. If you are presently in an internship or an apprenticeship, consult with the electrical tech you are working with concerning what you should be expecting. If not, ask a local Antioch IL electrical contractor if they can give you some pointers. Also keep in mind that unless you can move, the school must be within driving distance of your Antioch residence. Remember that if you decide to enroll in an out-of-state school, in addition to relocation costs there can be increased tuition fees compared to in-state residents.<\/p>\nSmaller Classes. <\/strong>It’s important that you get as much individualized training as possible, which can be challenging in bigger classes. Ask if you can sit in on a couple of the classes so that you can observe how big they are and witness first hand the interaction between instructors and students. Speak to a few of the students and get their feedback relating to class sizes and instruction. Finally, speak to a few of the teachers and find out what their level of experience is and what certifications or degrees they hold.<\/p>\nFlexible Scheduling. <\/strong>Verify that the class schedules for the schools you are assessing are flexible enough to meet your needs. If you are only able to go to classes at night or on weekends near Antioch IL, verify that the programs you are comparing offer those options. If you can only attend on a part-time basis, be sure that the school you select allows part-time enrollment. Also, find out what the policy is to make-up classes should you miss any due to work, sickness or family emergencies.<\/p>\nConsidering Attending an Electrician School near Antioch IL?<\/h3>\n
Following is a little bit of background information about the Antioch IL area.<\/p>\n
Antioch, Illinois<\/h3>
The Pottawatomi Indian Tribe, semi-nomadic hunters who lived in wigwams, inhabited Antioch when white men began to arrive. They fought with the British in the War of 1812 and then with the American settlers in the Blackhawk War of 1832. It was in 1832 that the American Indians began to leave the area, although arrowheads and other remnants of their history can still be found today if one knows where to look. The winding Highway 173 was once an Indian trail and Highway 83 was the Muquonago Trail.[5]<\/p>
The first permanent white settlement in Antioch was the Gage Brothers' cabin on Sequoit Creek, a tributary of the Fox River. In 1839, Hiram Buttrick built a sawmill along the creek, making Antioch a center of commerce. A replica of the mill has been built a few hundred feet downstream from where it once stood.[5]<\/p>
The influence of the Gage brothers is important when trying to understand the history and names of the Antioch area, as many local businesses, as well as ACHS sports teams, bear the word \"Sequoit.\" There is no Native American tribe named \"Sequoit\" or any Native American word for that matter stemming from Antioch's Pottawatomi inhabitants. Though the word \"sequoit\" has Native American origins, the story behind the name is as complicated as it is historically interesting. Fred Willman explains in his in-depth book examining Illinois high school nicknames, \"Why Mascots Have Tales\", \"The word Sequoit is a form of spelling of the Iroquois Indian word Sa-da-quoit, which was the name the Iroquois Indians gave to a stream that flows through Oneida County in New York state. In the Iroquois language, Sa-da-quoit literally means \u2018smooth pebbles in the bed of a stream.\u2019 When white settlers moved into Oneida County, they modified the spelling and pronunciation of the stream to Sequoit Creek.\" This was later transplanted and modified when the Gage brothers moved from New York State to northern Illinois.<\/p><\/div>\n