TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taipower welcomed 432 recruits for six months of intensive training, where they will wear 15 kilograms of equipment to climb electrical poles.
Approximately 10% of the recruits dropped out during the training program last year. A diverse group of recruits enrolled in this year’s training, including nurses, food bloggers, and even a father-son team, per CNA.
Training at the Taipower Kaohsiung Training Center will include skills such as climbing power poles, electricity detection and shielding, crimping wires, switching fuses, and grounding operations. Taipower said this work must be done wearing thick insulating gloves.
Taipower said it also attracted female recruits this year, such as Lai Pin-ying (賴品縈), who graduated in 1992 and originally began as a nurse. Lai said her father is a Taipower employee and encouraged her to enroll.

Lai told local media she had six years of nursing experience but left the medical industry. Due to her family connection, she was inspired to work in a job dominated by male staff.
After over a month of training, Lai said the work was hard but she is committed to sticking with the job. She had previously worked in an air-conditioned hospital ward, but now she must train under the hot sun.
Chen Hsing-ru (陳星汝), 25, is a food blogger who wants to overcome the stereotype of women being physically weaker than men. During training, her legs became covered in bruises, which worried her parents.
However, she embraced the job's challenges and believes her physical strength will catch up with others. She also enjoys the scenery from high on top of the electrical pole.

Wu Yeong-tzong (吳永宗), deputy director of Taipower's Fengshan District, said whenever a power outage occurs, Taipower vehicles rush to the scene for emergency repairs. Wu said it is difficult to train such personnel, especially in the race against time while ensuring safety.
During Taipower's 2023 program, 397 people registered but only 355 completed the training, resulting in a 10% dropout rate.
Taipower said it takes more than one year of professional training to become an electrical maintenance worker who can operate independently on the pole or the ground. After half a year of intensive training at the Kaohsiung training center, recruits are sent to various units for on-site training.