APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAMS

A workplace opportunity that allows students to learn an occupation and gain practical experience under the instruction of workers in a skilled trade or occupation.

The registered youth apprenticeship program is a structured work experience which combines paid, on-the-job training with related classroom training. It is sponsored by an employer or labor management apprenticeship committee, and is approved by the California Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Apprenticeship Standards.

Most apprenticeships are high school graduates; however, new California School-to-Career Apprenticeship Programs allow students who are at least 16 years old to enroll and begin their apprenticeships prior to graduation from high school.

Associated Builders and Contractors

B.A.C. Local #3 California Apprenticeship

Carpenters Training Committee for Northern CA

Field Ironworkers Apprenticeship and Training Program

Northern California Drywall Lathing Apprenticeship

Northern California Cement Masons Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee

Northern California Surveyors Joint Apprenticeship Committee

Operating Engineers JATC

Operative Plasterers and Cement Masons Local #300

Plumbers, Pipe and Refrigeration Fitters Joint Apprenticeship

United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers

Additional information and resource for students:

Profile

PATRICIA GRECO
Apprenticeship

"I had no clue what I was getting into." This is how Patricia Greco, electrician for Clovis Unified School District, describes her entry into the world of apprenticeships. It was 1988 and Patricia was at a crossroads in her life. She would soon need to support her four children in what she describes as "a man's world."

The recruiters visiting her Fresno City College classes sought the high C to low B average students for mundane factory jobs where too much intelligence or creativity would only cause trouble. She saw an ad in the paper for an electrician's apprenticeship program and applied.

Many of her colleagues dropped out of the program during the first year and a half as they "dug up and down every school from Madera to Exeter" learning the foundations of the electrical trade. Patricia didn't give up so easily, knowing that one day she would need to be familiar with all parts of the job to oversee a site effectively. She realized that the $11 per hour starting pay would eventually lead to a journeyman's wage of almost $30 per hour in a field where an accomplished tradesperson is all but guaranteed steady work.

Today, as a successful electrician, Patricia attributes her success to the quality of her apprenticeship training.

Are you an employer?
Participate in a training program.

• ensure that you have a properly qualified workforce
• efficient use of time and resources
• shared training costs

Contact us to learn more.