Hopeful Engineers Tour Oologah Power Plant

During these rough times, when jobs are being slashed left and right, there's one field that is starving for new workers.

A room full of hopeful engineers are getting an opportunity of a lifetime, a tour of the Public Service of Oklahoma Power Station in Oologah.

"If I were to say, are you interested in becoming a power plant operator and technician, they would have no clue and this is giving them an insight to what actually happens," said Ina Agnew with OSUIT

Agnew says over the next eight to ten years, 50 percent of the current power operators are expected to retire, leaving the job field wide open for these guys.

"There's going to be a tremendous need for operators, which is why we partner with companies like this one, American Electric Power, because they're interested in getting students into a college career that's going to position them to be successful employees in this industry," Agnew said.

The Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology prides itself on having a hands-on teaching environment.

"When we teach math, it's not just a lecture. Students are building models and they're testing those models," Agnew said.

Recent grads say this up close and personal teaching style is a huge plus.

"The program gave me a good foundation. I learned a lot about general processes and things that go on in a power plant. It gave me a good starting foundation to hit the ground running," said Zach Shreffler, recent OSUIT graduate.

"Regardless of the type of power that's used to generate electricity, whether it's wind or solar or hydro water power, someone has to manage the power grid," Agnew said.

OSUIT instructors say 100-percent of their power plant program grads get jobs right here inside the plant.