RedLine Consulting Puts Job Training Into High Gear

by Kathryn Millhorn

When all aspects of an organization work together, it pays off for everyone involved. Companies who integrate and provide job training guarantee a skilled workforce dedicated to success. Organized training—or retraining for those switching careers—keeps everyone up to date, introduces new methods and trends, reduces waste, and boosts morale.

RedLine Consulting CEO and President, Paul Walk

RedLine Consulting is a team of companies built by industry leaders. Their RedLine Training Academy offers multiple communications construction training courses in a field that’s vital and thriving.

President and CEO Paul Walk explains that “RedLine is a conglomeration of several companies working in the communications industry to provide our customers with successful and sustainable solutions.” One of these is RedLine Communications which “provides technical consulting services to several tribes and communications providers by offering feasibility studies, business plans, grant assistance, project budgeting, broadband surveys, and more.”

Through the Communications branch, they “have been assisting tribes in the development of reservation based broadband services through technical and grant assistance,” says Walk. “RedLine has provided broadband consulting services for several Washington state tribes and others throughout the United States. RedLine works with tribes and their respective counties to develop high speed internet solutions for the underserved and unserved areas of the state. Many tribes have interest in assisting their neighbors in receiving high speed internet services and our goal is to assist in that process in any way we can.”

Then there is RedLine Design. They “provide fiber optic infrastructure engineering and permitting services to Ports, PUD’s, Tribes, and broadband service providers,” explains Walk. “We have designed and permitted multiple Washington communities with the required infrastructure to support 10Gbps symmetrical internet service. Our focus is helping our customers build future-proof broadband networks for their long-term investments. Our recent efforts have been focused on engineering underserved areas of the state where people need internet the most.”

Providing the necessary infrastructure for projects like these requires a well-trained workforce. And this is where the RedLine Training Academy comes in. “The Training Academy was developed out of pure necessity in an industry where skilled labor is becoming increasingly more difficult to find and retain,” says Walk. “With industry demand at an all-time high and human resources at an all-time low, the company’s goal is to bring workers together with employers. We want to train as many people as possible in a life sustaining career. Many industry employers offer great benefits and an excellent living wage.”

The Academy “provides training for underground construction within the communications industry. Students experience 3D virtual reality directional drill training followed by hands-on field training,” says Walk. “Our training focuses on industry safety education followed by mini excavator and direction drill maintenance and operation certification. Students are trained on the drill and mud mix system, locating system, vac machine and pothole system, excavation safety, trench safety, and conduit installation.”

“Our training is open to public and is currently focusing on helping dislocated workers re-enter the workforce with funding from Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council and support from WorkSource-PacMtn. WorkSource is actively recruiting dislocated workers to apply for RedLine Training’s April and May classes,” Walk says. “Our website offers additional information on the training and a link to the application.”

Megan Fiess is Vice President of Workforce & Strategic Initiatives at the Thurston County Chamber and  says working with the Academy has been great. “PacMountain WDC has partnered with WorkSource to offer this type of training for the first time in Thurston County. This is the only training of this kind on the west coast and it’s an amazing opportunity to be able to offer it here in Thurston County for our community.”

“Broadband expansion is an essential need in the Pacific Mountain region. This partnership brings together key partners to build the appropriate labor force to meet this need. We are excited to partner with RedLine to bring this unique training to Thurston County,” said William Westmoreland, CEO at Pacific Mountain Workforce Development Council.”

And the program is not just job training. “As with all construction cohorts, we offer a hiring event the last day of class,” says Fiess, “and for the first time, we had companies reaching out to us without even advertising the Hiring Event, wanting to know how to hire students out WorkSource trainings. It was very impressive and helps the public workforce system know that the services that WorkSource provides is important to employers and our community.”

Want to know more, for yourself or someone who might benefit from a course at the Academy? Visit their website or email info@redlinecommunications.net with questions. Potential students can learn about upcoming class offerings and watch informational videos. Put your career into high gear by pushing it to the red line with the RedLine Consulting’s Training Academy today.