Christopher “Roland” Wilkinson recently did what no other high school student in Louisiana has before, not to mention few have accomplished in the United States. He completed the new ProTech Skills Institute, Interim Credentials (IC) Industry Based Certification (IBC).

The Electrical Interim Credentials curriculum was designed by the electrical training ALLIANCE, the national training development organization for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). The IC program uses technology-based, bite-sized learning and activity assessments and is designed for advanced placement into any of the 270 IBEW/NECA Electrical Training Centers across the country. 

Once a student completes the IC coursework and assessments and graduates from high school, he or she can present their certification to a training center for consideration of advanced placement into a four or five-year electrical apprenticeship, depending on the location. Locally, Bossier Parish students can apply to the Joint Apprenticeship Training Center (JATC) in Bossier City, which is IBEW Local 194.  JATC has been a strong supporter of the program at Bossier Parish School for Technology and Innovative Learning (BPSTIL).

To earn his Interim Credentials, Wilkinson completed five courses, designed to prepare students for a career in the electrical industry: Constructing Your Future (Work and Career Skills), Electrical Job Information 1, Applied Codeology 2023 (National Electrical Code), DC Theory, and Construction Drawings. In addition to the IC courseware, students complete hands-on tasks including wiring and testing circuits, and bending, cutting, threading and installing conduit.

Wilkinson is considering a career in Engineering and is using the IC course to add to the theory and practice he has been learning in BPSTIL’s Project Lead the Way engineering program, along with his college prep academics at Airline High School.

Wilkinson is another example of the outstanding students BPSTIL has the pleasure of working with in Bossier Parish Schools.