Chariho Students Explore Automation Careers as Report Highlights Electricians' Job Security Against AI
Last Updated: 2026-05-29T05:33:58.593-04:00
In Westerly, Rhode Island, students in Chariho Career and Technical Center's Electrical Technology program took a field trip to ProSystems Integration, a local automation company. The visit was intended to expose the students to career paths in the industrial automation sector of the electrical field, which they might not have otherwise considered. The students were given a tour of the facility by the company's owner, John Brunelle, and his son Jesse, an engineer at the company and an alumnus of the Chariho program. They were shown various pieces of equipment and learned about their functions, including a machine that produces medical tubing. The Brunelles explained that the industry is customer-driven and that projects can range from creating systems for major companies like Hershey Chocolate to developing control systems for local infrastructure like the Mystic River Bascule Bridge.
The visit was organized by Jesse Brunelle, who wanted to show current students the industrial side of the electrical industry, an area he felt was not heavily focused on during his time in the program. He hopes that by exposing them to this field, they will be inspired to pursue careers in automation. The instructor of the Electrical Technology class, Ryan Northup, echoed this sentiment, stating that real-world experiences like this can help students see the practical applications of what they are learning in the classroom and can inspire them to explore different career paths.
In other news, a recent report from the construction scheduling platform Planera has identified electricians as one of the jobs least likely to be replaced by artificial intelligence. The report, which analyzed over 55 manual professions, found that electricians have only a 14% risk of automation. This is due to the fact that their work requires a combination of physical skill, problem-solving, and human judgment, which are difficult to automate. The report also highlighted the growing demand for electricians, with over 80,000 new positions expected to be created nationally by 2026. This demand is being driven by a number of factors, including the need to upgrade aging infrastructure, the transition to renewable energy sources, and the construction of new AI data centers, which ironically require electricians to build and maintain.
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