The Apprenticeship Committee assigns each indentured apprentice to work for a qualified electrical contractor in the jurisdictional area and provides the schooling the apprentice is required to attend. Each apprentice is under direct supervision of a JW (Journeyman Wireman). The JW is responsible for training the apprentice while on the job site.

The apprentice will learn the Trade by doing the work under the watchful eyes of skilled and experienced Journeymen. The work itself may be almost anything you can imagine. Electricians work in the mud and dust of the construction project, in all kinds of weather, inside and outside. You may be digging a ditch, handling heavy conduit or appliances, pulling heavy cable, wading in mud or climbing in the steel. You may be running small conduit and pulling small wire for lights and receptacles, or trying to find out why a motor doesn’t run when the start button is pushed. You may be working in a controlled environment, making connections to a computer, networking and using this equipment to perform job functions, or freezing in a steady downpour to unload a heavy piece of gear. You will be installing and terminating fiber optics cable and installing and wiring programmable controls.

The variety of work you may be expected to perform, and the weather and other conditions under which you may be expected to perform it, are almost limitless. The work is usually physical, often dirty, and it usually requires that you use your mind at the same time. You will work in one of the world’s most dangerous environments…the construction job. It may be a new building just going up or a job within an existing building or facility. In any case, the job will cause you to be around moving machinery, noise, dirt, poor footing, falling objects, construction debris, and any number of other hazards. You will learn to cope with all of these things, and still do a productive day’s work.

This program consists of five (5) years of school and 8,000 hours of on the job training. School is typically held two (2) nights per week, three (3) hours per night, or six (6) hours on Saturday as determined by the Committee. You will also attend an additional class once per week to work towards an Associate Degree. The classes are held in Owensboro and the total class hours per year are 186 class hours. One hundred eighty (180) hours of school per year is required for advancement into the next year. If you have previous electrical school, you may receive credit for one or more years of school. On the job training is also part of the program. You will be assigned by the Committee to a Contractor for on the job training. There is no guarantee of steady employment however – for the most part, Apprentices stay busy nearly year ’round. Work may not interfere with your required schooling. If you have previous experience, before entering this program, you may also receive credit for hours work on the jobs.

Our program is a drug free program and a negative result is a condition for entrance into the program. Apprentices are drug tested annually and randomly. You must stay drug free! Our program has implemented rules and policies which much be followed by all Apprentices. These policies include absenteeism from work and school, tardiness from work and school, required monthly work reports that must be turned in by the Apprentice, class disruptions, use of alcohol and drugs at school or at work and procedures to be followed if an Apprentice is terminated by an Employer. Failure to follow the required rules may result into termination from our Program.

The curriculum includes a wide range of education in areas such as Electrical Theory, Lighting and Power Distribution, Industrial Controls, Communication Equipment, Testing Equipment, High Voltage Distribution, and The National Electrical Code. Apprentices also cover specialized areas such as: Instrumentation, Communications (Networks), Programmable Logic Controllers, Computers, Fire Alarm Systems, Welding, and Job Site Management & Supervision. The five years of school also includes: First Aid, CPR, and OSHA Training—this allows the apprentice to be aware of safety concerns and to have the ability to act accordingly in an emergency situation.

The curriculum is fully developed and constantly updated by a full-time staff at the electrical training ALLIANCE. Each section of the curriculum is written and monitored by personnel with actual experience and expertise in that particular field and they are in constant contact with all the local electrical apprenticeship programs throughout the United States & Canada in order to maintain and continue to improve the curriculum.

The Program will pay for your books, which you can keep upon completion of the program. You do not pay tuition, class fees, etc. You are paid while you work for the employer who is training you. However, you will not be paid while attending the required classes. There is a mandatory fee for the area Apprenticeship License, which usually falls between $15 and $20. In addition, you will be required to purchase a set of personal hand tools that are necessary for the trade. You will receive a list of tools that an apprentice will need during your first class session.

An Apprentice is paid a percentage of what a Journeyman Electrician earns, with the percentage determined by the Apprentice’s number of on-the-job work hours. You will start at 40% of the current Journeyman scale. Pay increases are not automatic, but are dependent upon progress and cooperation in training, plus satisfactory completion of school each year. The pay will increase to 45% of Journeyman scale at 1,000 hours of work, 55% at 2,000 hours of work, 60% at 3,500 hours of work, 65% at 5,000 hours of work, and 75% at 6,500 hours of work.

Yes. All apprentices are covered under the same health insurance and retirement pensions as the Journeyman Electrician. Pension benefits, Health Insurance, Dental Insurance, and Vision Insurance are paid by the Contractor above the wage rate. The health insurance is a comprehensive plan that includes vision, dental, and prescription drug co-payments. The retirement pensions include (2) International pensions and (1) Local pension.