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A p ril 5, 2000
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Career/Technology Trends
Grads Find Wiring Nation’s Desktops
Is Key to Top Pay and Tech Training
A w hite-hot career path for today's
high school grads is information cabling —
the electrical w iring that brings voice,
data and video connections through a
building to the desktop.
C urrently, m any professional voice-
data-video installer/technicians are earn
ing as m uch as $50,000 a year, according
to the National Electrical C ontractors
A ssociation (N E C A ) and International
B ro th erh o o d o f E lectrical W orkers
(IB E W ), w hose NJATC training program
is the acknow ledged leader in recruiting
and training A m erica’s electrical con
struction workers.
A dding to the lure o f inform ation
cabling are the substantial intellectual
and financial rew ards being offered elec
trical trainees.
Training Perks
T he N E C A -IB E W training program
boasts an enviable cam -as-you-leam cur
riculum , offering participants a substan
tial salary, as well as health and pension
benefits and college credits during the
apprenticeship period.
F or e x am p le, ap p ren tic e s in the
NJATC program for voice-data-video
installer/technicians earn an average o f
$50,000 to $75,000 over the three-year
training period, w hich requires 480 hours
o f classroom instruction and 4,800 hours
o f on-the-job training. And the dem and
for these w orkers is skyrocketing.
N E C A -IB E W officials estim ate they
Outstanding career opportunities abound for professional electrical
will need to recruit and train an addition
workers who install the telecom wiring that brings voice, data and
al 50,000 tele co m m u n ic atio n s in staller/
video connections through a building to the desktop.
technicians over the next 10 years to
m eet the voice-data-video cabling needs
tunities in electrical construction.
More than 40,000 apprentices are cur
o f the n ation's com m ercial buildings.
“ If A m erica is to be globally com peti
rently enrolled in the multi-year NJATC
In addition, dem and for journeym an
tive in the 21st century and serve the
training programs for highly-skilled electri
w irem en — the professional electricians
nation’s exploding technology needs, it
cal jobs in the industrial, commercial,
w ho wire the electrical system s o f the
m ust attract people to electrical and
residential and telecommunications sectors.
nation’s buildings and factories — is
information cabling careers," says N ECA
For a free inform ative brochure on
alm ost as hot.
C h ie f E xecutive O fficer John M. Grau.
the types o f careers currently available
Recruiting Push
"W e need to recruit young people into
through NJATC apprenticeships in the
To help meet the exploding need for these
the construction industry in general and
electrical a n d t e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s
professional electrical workers, NECA and
the electrical field in particular, and to
industry, w rite to E lectrical Construction
IBEW are aggressively working to increase
reem phasize the w orth and rew ards o f
Careers, PO Box 2532, N orth B abylon,
aw areness o f the outstanding career oppor-
trade m astery and skilled labor careers.”
N Y 11703.
Looking for a few good
men and women
to become an Electrician
Apprentice
Open Application from April 3 -
April 14, 2000
Apprentices wages begin at $ 10
and goes up to $25 per hour for
five years
Program Minimum Requirements:
1. At least 18 years of age.
2. High school graduate or GED.
3. One full year of high school algebra or
equivalent college algebra courses.
4. Qualifying score on NJATC aptitude
test.
Shortage of Electrical Workers
Threatens “Wiring” of America
The overwhelming obstacle to wiring
American businesses over the next decade
will be recruiting and training the thousands o f
professional electrical workers needed to
cable the nation's new commercial buildings
and rewire outdated ones.
That's the prediction o f the National
Electrical Contractors Association (NECA)
and International Bmthertxxxf o f Electrical
Workers (IBEW), whose NJATC training
program has long been the acknow ledged
leader in recruiting and training America’s
electrical construction workers.
NECA-IBEW officials estimate that an
additional 50,000 telecom m unications
installer/technicians will need to be recruit
ed and trained over the next 10 years to
meet the demand for cabling the nation’s
commercial buildings.
Apprentice installer/technicians in the
NECA-IBEW training program must com
plete a demanding three-year course encom
passing 480 hours o f classwixk and 4,800
hours o f on-the-job experience to become
NJATC certified.
However, participants in the eam-as-you-
leam program receive a highly competitive
salary, health and pension benefits and college
credits during the apprenticeship, with
installer/technicians earning an average o f
$50,000 to $75,000 over the three-year
training period.
NECA-IBEW officials say that attracting
people to professional electrical and informa
tion cabling careers is as much about
"rewiring” America's attitudes toward the
construction industry and skilled labor careers,
as it is about wiring the nation tor the infor-
mation age.
"Unfortunately, the prosperity o f the last
decade and the glamorizing o f overnight high-
tech w ealth has moved many people to forget
the honor o f the skilled trades and their value
in the workplace,” says IBEW International
President John J. Barry. "Our society needs to
reemphasize the worth and rewards o f trade
mastery and skilled labor careers.”
NECA and IBEW officials say they hope
to unite the wide-ranging resources o f the
business, education and labor communities to
counteract the alarming shortage o f skilled
electrical workers.
The effort will focus on advancing cooper
ative education and awareness activities that
address technology training needs, and career
opportunities for future electricians and
cabling installer/technicians.
Construction Industry Boom Continues;
Top Marks Go To Electrical Specialties
A m id the ro b u st g ro w th o f the
nation’s construction sector, careers in
the electrical field are now providing
som e o f the m ost ch allen g in g and
rew arding opportunities o f all.
Recent governm ent reports show that
over the past decade, electrical construc
tion grew faster than other types o f con
struction contracting, acco u n tin g for
alm ost 16 percent o f all hiring in the con
struction trades betw een 1991 and 1997.
This exploding dem and for profes
sional electrical w orkers appears to stem
from the dram atic grow th in inform ation
cabling — the w iring o f buildings to take
v o ice -d ata -v id e o c o n n ec tio n s to the
d e sk to p — and the n a tio n ’s in cre asin g
requirem ents for electrical m aintenance,
service and repair work.
Outstanding Training
In response, the organized electrical
construction industry — through a joint
effort o f the N ational E lectrical
Contractors Association (N E C A ) and the
International Brotherhood o f Electrical
W orkers (IB E W ) — has continued to
com m it significant resources to its long
standing NJATC training program .
This program is designed to recruit
qualified w orkers and provide them with
the extensive on-the-job training and
specialized instruction needed to ensure
that highly skilled, professional w orkers
Census 2000 is an opportunity
to help our community grow.
The information gathered in '
Census 2000 can help deter-
mine where job training
centers, schools, daycare
centers and healthcare facili
ties are needed. Where new
businesses and factories
are built. And its Census
data that help© determine
our fair share of billions
of dollars in government
funding.
I
So, when your Census
form arrives, Fill it in
and mail it back, ft’s
a form of opportunity
for our community.
I
I
I
I
Census 2 0 0 0 .
1
This is o u r fu tu re .
■
Don’t leave it Wank.
This is an equal opportunity industry, and minorities and
females are encouraged to apply.
For more information, visit Oregon Tradeswomen
(located at PCC Metro, 5600 NE. 42nd Ave. Room
107) or call Amy Miller at 503/943-2228.
____
will alw ays be available in the electrical
construction field.
In 1999 alone, N E C A and IBEW
invested an estim ated $80 m illion in
NJATC program s for training m ore than
40,000 apprentices for electrical jo b s in
the industrial, com m ercial, residential
and tele co m m u n ic atio n s sectors. In
addition, the program provided training
for 50,000 journeym en w ho returned for
sp ecialized
instruction
to
fu rth er
im prove or update their skills.
Salary and Benefits
U nlike m ost education and instruction
program s, NJATC apprenticeships are
eam -as-you-leam program s, providing
particip an ts w ith regular paychecks,
health and pension benefits, and the earn
ing o f college credits during training.
Depending on the electrical specialty
selected, length o f apprenticeship, and
local pay rate, NJATC participants gener
ally earn betw een $80,000 and $ 150,000
over their full apprenticeship period.
Most apprenticeship programs run from
3 to 5 years, depending on the specialty
chosen. C u rre n tly the m ost p o p u lar
apprenticeships are for installer/techni
cians o f inform ation cabling; linem en;
and inside w irem en. These require 3-,
3 I,!- and 5-year program s respectively.
All dem and several hundred hours o f
classroom tim e, and thousands o f on-
the-job training hours under the direc
tion o f experienced professionals.
College Credits
T he NJATC program has also form ed
num erous alliances with colleges and
universities to help electrical workers
obtain academ ic degrees as well.
The Am erican C ouncil o f E ducation
allow s 50 hours o f college credit equiv
alency for com pletion o f the w irem an
apprenticeship program , and 30 hours
for the linem an apprenticeship. A pprox
im ately 2,000 colleges and universities
across the country will accept these
credits on a transfer basis.
D espite these outstanding benefits
and career opportunities, the dem and
for highly skilled, professional e lectri
cal w orkers is outstripping supply.
For exam ple, N E C A -IB E W officials
currently estim ate they will need to
train an additional 50,000 telecom m u
nications installer/technicians over the
next decade to m eet the c o u n try ’s sky
ro c k e tin g
n e ed s
for
in fo rm a tio n
cabling. D em and for o ther professional
electrical specialties is also exploding.
To learn m ore about career op p o rtu
nities in electrical construction, order a
free in fo rm a tiv e p am p h le t on the
NJATC apprenticeship program from
E le ctrica l C o n stru c tio n C a ree rs, PO
B ox 2532, N orth B abylon, NY 11703.