Apprenticeship
One of the top priorities identified in this state and around the entire country is the growing demand of highly trained and skilled workers in the construction trades.
In order to promote training and recruitment into registered apprenticeship programs to meet these demands, the Pennsylvania State Building & Construction Trades Council promotes the use of Pre-Apprentice Training Programs, developed by the Building & Construction Trades Department Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, in public and private schools. This will give many students the preparation they need to enter into the apprenticeship programs in the construction trades and help lower the high numbers of students that choose to drop out of school. Due to the increased cost of a college education, many students that graduate high school never plan on attending college.
Apprenticeship training is the best way to provide a highly skilled and trained workforce in the construction industry. Apprentices that participate in a program registered with the United States Department of Labor are provided training in two ways. They get to work on a job for a participating contractor in order to receive credit for on-the-job training hours and they attend training classes related to the trade they have chosen. Most apprenticeship training programs are four (4) or five (5) years and as the apprentice progresses their pay increases. The training costs are provided by the apprenticeship program that is jointly managed by Labor and Management.
To start the process of entering an apprenticeship, the best path is to determine the trade (electrician, plumber, sheet metal worker, etc.) that you would like to enter and then research the local union that has jurisdiction in your area.
