If you were searching for an answer to that question, you’ve found the ideal blog post. In this piece, we will discuss how to become an apprentice electrician with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) offers an electrician apprenticeship program to train the next generation of electrical workers. The curriculum covers all the bases, from the fundamentals of electricity to more specialized skills like HVAC, plumbing, and carpentry.
Contents
IBEW Basics
About 775,000 people in the United States are members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), a labor union. By participating in their apprenticeship program, you will receive both classroom and on-the-job training for a potentially lucrative career.
Skilled experts will instruct you in every stage of the process, from the basics to the finer points of their craft. While joining the IBEW may not seem like the easiest option, this path is worth investigating.
What’s an Electrician Apprenticeship?
In the context of education, an apprenticeship is a long-term training program. These are typically managed by groups whose mission is to educate and train professionals.
Apprenticeships typically take between four and a half and five years to complete, depending on the route taken to get there. If you want to become an apprentice electrician, you can either apply to a program that offers apprenticeships in the field, or you can attend an electrician school and start out as an electrical assistant and then apply for an apprenticeship.
Some training programs are designed to give students a well-rounded education by combining classroom lectures, laboratory exercises, and virtual projects with self-paced online learning and at-home homework.
While still only in school for one year, students spend one day a week in labs engaging in real-world practice. If you have an ET card, you can study more efficiently and work while you’re in school.
Organize Training Program
A variety of local laws and licensing regulations govern the electrical industry, and each of these may have its own set of requirements in terms of the level of education and work experience a prospective electrician must have.
During your apprenticeship, you will be exposed to a wide range of skills and knowledge. Training in both the classroom and on the job will equip you to perform safety-related tasks and gain an understanding of electrical theory.
Classes at that venue may or may not be offered on the days set aside by your local authority. However, most programs do involve some form of classroom instruction, whether it takes the form of an online course or face-to-face lessons with other students who have already fulfilled the prerequisites for your program.
Starting out in this field typically involves taking classes that teach how electricity works while also teaching, but this varies greatly depending on the type of job one hopes to have.
Electrician Apprenticeship: What You Can Expect to Learn
The change from school to employment can be very stimulating. Start your first week of training on the job off well by learning how to perform things like strip wires and bend conduit, but don’t worry, you’ll rapidly move on to more complex duties as you gain experience in the field.
The variety of abilities you acquire during your apprenticeship and training are crucial to guaranteeing your workplace’s reliability, productivity, and safety. You’ll be putting in voltmeters, ammeters, ohmmeters, and wiring for homes, businesses, and factories.
An apprentice or trainee can use these instruments to decipher electrical schematics for a variety of building types, giving them a head start on learning the trade.
A high-level electrician is expected by law to look at installed electrical equipment even if it has been done incorrectly with the correct procedures followed when installing them initially.
When there’s an emergency on-site where power needs to be shut off quickly due to lightning striking nearby, then using fuses/circuit breakers
Your on-the-job training will take place in a wide variety of settings, including city utility companies and construction companies. You’ll also be trained at aviation companies, military contractors, manufacturing factories, and internet/telephone providers.
In addition to these locations, you may have the opportunity for hands-on experience with hospitals or prisons, so you must be open-minded about what kind of work environment might suit your needs best!
As you progress through your apprenticeship program, becoming more technical and complex with the skills that you’ve learned before, it will all be worth it in the end.
Each section of your classroom instruction is designed to better prepare you for the next, which will cover all you need to know to pass the journeyman examination and begin your actual work as a journeyman.
IBEW Apprenticeship: How to Apply
IBEW Applicant Form
A good place to start is via the IBEW’s apprenticeship program. Among the many options available to you is that of a technician in the fields of sound and communication, as well as that of a residential wireman, an interior wireman, or an outdoor lineman.
The Puget Sound Electrical JATC in Renton, WA, for example, includes a Residential program and sound and comm techs who collaborate with technicians for maintenance staff in the Seattle metropolitan region, but other apprentice schools may not.
It takes an outside lineman longer than anybody else to develop the skills essential to do their job well, thus they have access to dedicated training facilities. From whatever vantage point, however, it is very evident that the focus of electrical engineering education must be on the nuances of wiring structures.
During your first year, you will earn somewhere around the median wage for an entry-level worker. In contrast, apprentices may receive a raise after six to twelve months on the job or a bonus after completing 1,000 hours of service.
While the cost of living is lower in the Southern Union states, offering more attractive rates for apprentice pay, the lack of a pay increase after the first year until moving up to Journeymen Pay means that the apprentice will earn less money overall. This is because people in the southern states of the Union have a lower average cost of living compared to those in the western and eastern parts of the country.
Fillable Application for IBEW Apprenticeship
Finding an apprenticeship online is easy, but be prepared to fill out some forms. Four previous addresses in addition to your high school and college transcripts are required.
If you have poor penmanship, it will be difficult for people to read and understand the information you have provided, so take the time to write it out neatly.
If this is not possible, please speak with a representative at the training center about other locations to submit these documents so that there is no confusion about who originally said what.
Get in touch with the people who will be examining your application. Some programs have strict requirements for participants, including that they:
- You need to be at least 18 years old to enter.
- You should have a diploma, GED, Associate’s degree, or higher to be considered for this position.
- Must have passed an algebra class in high school or have equivalent post-secondary math experience; most universities also demand official transcripts of all prior academic work, beginning with elementary school records and extending through any post-secondary degrees acquired.
IBEW Apprenticeship Aptitude Test Preparation
If you want to do well on the aptitude test, you need to study hard and give it your all. The applicants are ranked from best to worst, with the top-ranked candidates being invited to the interview stage first. Reading comprehension and functions in algebra each take about 2 hours, however there is a break in between the two sections of the aptitude test.
Wait For The Interview
The wait to hear back on your acceptance is often the most stressful and time-consuming portion. Because there are usually only one or two application windows per year, many apprentices must wait months before learning whether or not they have been accepted.
You won’t need to keep calling for an answer, as you’ll receive a notification as soon as you’re picked. Thus, as not to waste their time by sending messages back that way, which will make them more likely to overlook potential recruits like yourself for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to: being unavailable during work hours; being unable to chat on the phone; being bashful about phoning someone up rather than emailing or texting them; etc. Therefore, try not to freak out.
The Interview
The panelists are from the NECA local office where you live. The apprenticeship’s director might also be present. Seeing the results of your labor as a laborer can be satisfying. Scaffolding and ladders may need to be erected, trenches dug, supplies carried, and crawl spaces explored, but safety is always a priority one. Keep this in mind while answering questions like “what does it take to get the work done safely?”
Post Interview
If you are offered an interview, you should not waste the next two years on the waiting list. There are many people interested in becoming IBEW apprentices, so your name won’t remain at the top of the list unless you have a higher score than everyone else.
What It Takes to Become an Electrician Now
Now is the moment to invest in training your electrician of the future. The sooner you get started, the more time you will have to earn both high school credits and apprenticeship hours. When you graduate from high school with an Electrician’s Training Card and have completed full-time courses at Intercoast College, you can apply the credits you earned in math, shop, and mechanical drawing toward a degree (ET card).
No matter if students choose to focus on motors or household appliance wiring, they will gain the theoretical and practical knowledge essential to pursue a career as an electrician.
Conclusion
A formal apprenticeship program for electricians is provided by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). Everything from basic electrical theory to heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing, and carpentry is included in the course load. Despite the fact that becoming an IBEW member may not be the simplest choice, it is still one that should be explored. An inexperienced electrician can use these tools to read electrical plans for any structure. A licensed electrician must inspect all electrical equipment, regardless of whether or not it was installed properly.
The intricacies of electrical wiring should be emphasized in electrical engineering curricula. Compared to the Northern Union states, the cost of living in the Southern Union states is lower, making the wages available to apprentices there more competitive. The apprentice will end up with less money because there is no pay raise after the first year. In many cases, the most trying and time-consuming part is simply waiting to hear back about acceptance. It takes about 2 hours to learn to read and understand algebraic functions.
The aptitude test consists of two parts separated by a break. The most qualified applicants are contacted for interviews first. There is a large pool of potential apprentices for the IBEW. The earlier you begin, the more time you will have to complete high school and complete your apprenticeship. Credits earned in courses such as mathematics, shop, and mechanical drawing can be applied to a variety of different degrees (ET card).
Content Summary
- In this piece, we will discuss how to become an apprentice electrician with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW).
- The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) offers an electrician apprenticeship program to train the next generation of electrical workers.
- About 775,000 people in the United States are members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), a labor union.
- You can apply to a program that gives apprenticeships in the field or attend an electrician school and start as an electrical assistant before applying for an apprenticeship.
- As you progress through your apprenticeship program, becoming more technical and complex with the skills that you’ve learned before, it will all be worth it in the end.
- Each section of your classroom instruction is designed to better prepare you for the next, which will cover all you need to know to pass the journeyman examination and begin your actual work as a journeyman.
- Get in touch with the people who will be examining your application.
- You should have a diploma, GED, Associate’s degree, or higher to be considered for this position.
- IBEW Apprenticeship Aptitude Test Preparation If you want to do well on the aptitude test, you need to study hard and give it your all.
- The wait to hear back on your acceptance is often the most stressful and time-consuming portion.
- The panelists are from the NECA local office where you live.
- Seeing the results of your labor as a laborer can be satisfying.
- If you are offered an interview, you should not waste the next two years on the waiting list.
- There are many people interested in becoming IBEW apprentices, so your name won’t remain at the top of the list unless you have a higher score than everyone else.
- Now is the moment to invest in training your electrician of the future.
- The sooner you get started, the more time you will have to earn both high school credits and apprenticeship hours.
- When you graduate high school with an Electrician’s Training Card and complete full-time Intercoast College courses, you can apply math, shop, and mechanical drawing credits toward a degree (ET card).
