Article

How EASA’s ERT Program Streamlined Our Apprenticeship Training

March 2025
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Justin T. Hatfield
Emerging Technologies Chair and Marketing & Industry Awareness Committee Member
HECO
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Last year, EASA introduced two significant initiatives that marked a major leap forward for our industry: the Electromechanical Repair Technician (ERT) Certificate Program and the Online Learning Center. These programs represent a groundbreaking step, and I am truly thrilled that EASA has chosen this path to enhance training opportunities within our field.

At first, we at HECO didn’t give the EASA programs much attention when they were announced. We had spent the previous three years developing our own robust apprenticeship program, which was approved by both the State of Michigan and the U.S. Department of Labor. This program required 8,000 hours of on-the-job training, along with 1,027 hours of related instructional time. Given the extensive nature of our own program, we felt confident that we were already meeting our training needs and that the EASA resources wouldn’t provide significant added value.

However, as time went on, we quickly realized how wrong we were. Finding the 1,027 hours of instructional content specifically related to electric motor repair turned out to be far more challenging than we anticipated. While we had invested considerable effort into developing our own training content and materials, including leveraging EASA’s available resources, an unexpected tragedy struck. Our seasoned trainer, who had more than 40 years of hands-on experience in electric motor repair, passed away unexpectedly. With this loss, we were left with a wealth of content but no clear path for delivering it effectively to our apprentices.

Fast forward to 2024, when we finally took a closer look at the EASA ERT Certificate Program. To our surprise and relief, this program offered a fantastic solution. It allowed us to count 155 hours of classroom instruction as part of the ERT Certificate Program and an additional 356 hours of supplementary training, bringing the total to an impressive 511 hours of instructional content. This equated to nearly half of the required hours for our apprentices!

We then cross-referenced the EASA courses with the specific requirements of our apprenticeship program. To our satisfaction, the alignment was seamless, and we were able to easily match the EASA training modules with the necessary components of our own curriculum.

At a minimal cost of just $799 per year per student, the EASA ERT Certificate Program provided us with half of the required instructional hours already organized and ready for implementation. This was a tremendous savings when compared to the costs we would have incurred if we had continued to develop and administer these hours ourselves. Moreover, the convenience of online classes, coupled with automated tracking and reporting features, has streamlined the entire process, giving us everything we need to effectively manage and administer these hours as part of our apprenticeship program.

In retrospect, what initially seemed like a supplementary resource has proven to be a game-changer for our training efforts. The EASA ERT Certificate Program not only saved us considerable time and resources, but it also ensured that we could continue providing high-quality training to our apprentices without disruption. We are truly grateful for EASA’s commitment to advancing the industry and look forward to incorporating these valuable resources into our training program for years to come.