TELECOMMUNICATIONS APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM

This program is a 3-year training program with standards approved in the State of Maryland, Commonwealth of Virginia as well as the District of Columbia. The program requires that each apprentice receive 4800 hours of on the job training with the supervision of qualified Installer/Technicians. The Washington D.C. Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee directly places each apprentice with a contractor who is performing Telecommunication work in the jurisdiction of Local 26.

While in the Training Program apprentices are required to attend 480 hours of classroom related instruction. This instruction is setup in the following manner over the 3-year period.

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 twelve-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. 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 day that the apprentice attends school and is not on the job, each apprentice receives an attendance check. In the last year of apprenticeship, apprentices choose elective classes and attend school one night a week from September through May.

The Local 26/NECA JATC is a certified BICSI Training site. We currently have five instructors on staff who are BICSI certified instructors. After completion of each year of the NJATC curriculum each apprentice will attend a 40-hour level of BICSI Training. BICSI stands for Building Industry Consulting Services International. The BICSI standards are found in many of the telecommunication specifications, which apply to the installation of Tele/Data work nationwide. There are three levels of BICSI training, Installer Level 1, Installer Level 2, and Technician Level. After completing each year of curriculum they will take the corresponding 40-hour block of BICSI training and be tested both written and hands-on. Subsequently BICSI grades and certifies those that are successful.

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:

The rate of pay for an individual who completes the three year apprenticeship program and becomes a Communication Technician in Local Union 26 is:

$22.05/hr. plus
Paid Benefits

Click here to find out how to apply for the Telecommunications Apprenticeship Program which the Washington D.C. Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee offers.