Apprenticeship Corner: March, 2012 In February s issue of the Heritage newsletter, we began the Apprenticeship Corner in an effort to show that for many students, attending four year colleges after high school is not the answer. Many students start college but fail to be successful there. There are other routes for students to take to obtain good-paying jobs that are in demand and that will enable them to earn a middle-class or higher salary. (See the February issue of the newsletter for a more detailed report.) For many of these students for whom a four year college is not the answer, apprenticeships is an attractive option. The February 20 th issue of the Washington Post (read below) highlighted the lack of trained, skilled factory jobs that go begging for trained applicants. These jobs require technical expertise/training that students can learn while being paid to learn it! (Insert Washington Post Article)
This week, we highlight the electrical trades apprenticeships and the IBEW-NECA (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers-National Electrical Contractors Association), the union representing many of the workers in the electrical trades. Electrical Trades apprenticeships offer an apprentice three routes to a rewarding, good-paying future: the Inside Wireman A Program, the Residential Training Program, and the Telecommunications Program. We have pulled the descriptions of each program off the IBEW-NECA website (http://www.washdcjatc.org/) and show them below. If you go to this website, click on Resources for Apprentices and Applicants (on the left side of the page on a dark gray tab). Then you can click on several resources (including videos) that will help you learn even more about these programs. We would particularly like you to click on the videos Career Advancement, Apprentices Speak, Apprentice Blogs, and Green Jobs Training so that you will get a taste of the variety of careers to which this apprenticeship can lead. Inside Wireman A Apprenticeship Program This program is a 5-year training program with standards approved in the State of Maryland, Commonwealth of Virginia, and District of Columbia. It requires that each apprentice receive a minimum 8,000 hours of on-the-job training in the electrical construction industry with the supervision of a journeyman electrician. During the course of the apprenticeship, each apprentice is transferred on a yearly basis to a new contractor. This affords the apprentice the opportunity to receive varied experiences during their apprenticeship. The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee makes all placements with contractors. While in the Training Program apprentices are required to attend 800 hours of classroom related instruction. This instruction is setup in the following manner over the 5-year period. During the first three years of apprenticeship, an apprentice will attend school one day, every two weeks, year round for a minimum of 23 days in a 12-month period. While attending Day School, apprentices will be taught the curriculum set in place by the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC). This Curriculum consists of the following: AC THEORY DC THEORY JOB SAFETY HISTORY OF THE IBEW AND NECA BLUEPRINT READING CONDUIT BENDING SOLID STATE ELECTRONICS DIGITAL ELECTRONICS CATEGORY 5 WIRING MOTOR CONTROLS OPTICAL FIBER
FIRE ALARM AND SECURITY SYSTEMS PLCs TRANSFORMERS NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE For the days that apprentices attend school and are not on the job, they receive attendance checks after successfully completing the day s coursework. In the last two years of apprenticeship, apprentices attend school one night a week from September through May. While attending night school the apprentices choose from numerous different skill improvement classes to attend. In their fourth and fifth year of apprenticeship they must take four skill improvement classes. Typical classes consist of the following: CATEGORY 5 WIRING FIBER OPTICS NEC CODE TEST PREPARATION FIRE ALARMS MOTOR CONTROLS TRANSFORMERS GROUNDING COMPUTER LITERACY HIGH VOLTAGE CABLE SPLICING ALTERNATIVE ENERGY BICSI CERTIFICATIONS NETWORKING INDUSTRIAL POWER VARIABLE FREQUENCY DRIVES POWER QUALITY Apprentices will receive pay increases during the course of their apprenticeship based on the amount of work hours they have successfully completed in the program and successful school performance. Those raises are set in the following increments: 45% $17.89/hr. 1st Period Completion of 1000 hours 47% $18.68/hr. 2nd Period Completion of 1000 hours and 1 year of school 50% $19.88/hr. 3rd Period 60% $23.85/hr. 4th Period 70% $27.83/hr. 5th Period 80% $31.80/hr. 6th Period
The rate of pay for an individual who completes the 5-year apprenticeship program and becomes a journeyman electrician in Local Union 26 is: $39.75/hr. plus An apprentice who completes the apprenticeship program with the Local 26 JATC is also eligible for 60 college credits through the American Council on Education. These credits have been set up through the NJATC. The Local 26 JATC also has an articulation agreement with Montgomery College, Prince George s County Community College, College of Southern Maryland, and Northern Virginia Community College. This would afford an individual the opportunity to work towards achieving a Bachelors degree. Telecommunications Apprenticeship Program This program is a 3-year training program with standards approved in the State of Maryland, Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia. The program requires that each apprentice receive 4,800 hours of on the job training with the supervision of qualified Installer/Technicians. The Washington D.C. Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee places apprentices with contractors who are performing Telecommunication work in the jurisdiction of Local 26. While in the apprenticeship program apprentices are required to attend 480 hours of classroom related instruction. During the first two years of apprenticeship, an apprentice will attend school one day, every two weeks, year round for a minimum of 23 days in a 12-month period. While attending Day School, apprentices will be taught the curriculum which is set in place by the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC). This Curriculum consists of the following: AC THEORY DC THEORY JOB SAFETY HISTORY OF THE IBEW AND NECA BLUEPRINT READING CATEGORY 5 WIRING STRUCTURED WIRING SYSTEMS CONFIGURING LOCAL AREA NETWORKS FIBER OPTICS SECURITY SYSTEMS For the days that apprentices attend school and are not on the job, they receive attendance checks after successfully completing the day s coursework. In the last year of apprenticeship, apprentices choose elective classes and attend school one night a week from September through May. The NECA/IBEW Local 26 JATC is a certified Building Industry Consulting Services International (BICSI) Training site since 1998. After completion of each year of the NJATC curriculum, each apprentice will attend a 40-hour level of BICSI Training. The BICSI standards are found in many of the telecommunication specifications, which apply to the installation of Tele/Data work nationwide. There are four levels of BICSI training, ITS Installer Level 1, ITS Installer Level 2- copper, ITS Level 2- optical fiber, and ITS Technician Level. After completing each year of curriculum they will take the corresponding 40-hour block of BICSI training and will complete written and hands-on tests. Successful apprentices will be BICSI certified. Individuals in this program will receive pay increases during the course of their apprenticeship based on the amount of hours they have successfully completed in the program. Those raises are set in the following increments: 55% $13.67/hr. 1st Period
65% $16.15/hr. 2nd Period 75% $18.64/hr. 3rd Period 80% $19.88/hr. 4th Period 85% $21.12/hr. 5th Period 90% $22.37/hr. 6th Period The rate of pay for an individual who completes the three year apprenticeship program and becomes a Communication Technician in Local Union 26 is: $24.85/hr. plus Residential Training Program This program is a 4-year training program with standards approved in the State of Maryland, Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia. The program requires that each trainee receive 8,000 hours of on the job training with the supervision of a qualified journeyman electrician. All job placements are made by the Washington D.C. Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee and individuals work with contractors who are signatory to Local Union 26. After two years of on the job training individuals are required to complete 180 hours of classroom related instruction. This instruction is set up in the following manner over a two-year period. Each trainee attends school one night a week for two and one half hours. They attend this training from the months of September to May during their last two years in the program. While attending this training the trainees will be taught the curriculum which is set in place by the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC). This curriculum consists of the following: AC THEORY DC THEORY JOB SAFETY HISTORY OF THE IBEW AND NECA BLUEPRINT READING NATIONAL ELECTRICAL CODE Individuals in this program will receive pay increases during the course of the training based on the amount of work hours they have successfully completed while in the program. Those raises are set in the following increments: 45% $11.73/hr. 1st Period
50% $13.03/hr. 2nd Period 55% $14.33/hr. 3rd Period 60% $15.64/hr. 4th Period 65% $16.94/hr. 5th Period 70% $18.24/hr. 6th Period 75% $19.55/hr. 7th Period 80% $20.85/hr. 8th Period The rate of pay for an individual who completes the 4-year training program is based on the amount of Jurisdictional Electrical Licenses they receive. 1 License 2 Licenses 3 Licenses $26.06/hr. $26.56/hr. $27.06/hr. When you look at the salaries apprenticeships earn by the time they graduate, please realize that a student who graduates from the Telecommunications Apprenticeship program will start at $24.85, which means that he/she will earn $51,688 a year, the Residential Training apprentice graduate will start between 26.06 and 27.06 per hour, which means he/she will start between $54,205 and $56,285 a year, and an Inside Wireman A Apprentice graduate will start at 39.75 per hour and will earn $82,680 per year!! And these are starting salaries! And remember, apprentices will be paid while they are going to class and on the job! At the end of their training, they will not only have a comfortable salary, but they will also not owe a dime for their education (paid for by their employer). If you would like to see a local company that invests in and uses electrical apprentices, please go to https://www.mcdean.com/educationfolder/apprenticeship.htm. MC Dean is one a large electrical engineering and construction firm that designs and builds complex power, communications, security, life safety, and automation systems. They have job sites all over the world, and offices throughout the United States.
If you are interested in apprenticeships, plan to attend the Apprenticeship Night on May 10 th at 7:00 in the Heritage High School auditorium. If you would like to see an apprenticeship representative before then, plan to attend The Diversity in Education Fair on March 28 th from 6:30-8:30 at Dominion High School. Mr. Tony Navarro, the Sheet Metal Industry apprenticeship representative will be there, and he is willing to talk about any of the apprenticeable trades with you. If you have further questions, please contact a counselor at Heritage. Coming in April s Apprentice Corner Newsletter: Steamfitters