NECA Works with Federal Program to Help Local Workers Get Jobs

by USGBC-NCR Staff

The Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC), which oversees apprentice training for the electrical contractors of Washington, DC Chapter of NECA and the electricians of IBEW Local 26 has helped hundreds of veterans, women, minorities, youth and dislocated workers in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC embark on a stable, high paying career in electrical construction.

Through the Department of Housing and Urban Development Step-Up program, residents who would not normally qualify for an apprenticeship have the opportunity to achieve the requirements and transition to the apprenticeship program. Once in the program, they receive intense training that includes numerous green topics including DC & AC theory, solar photovoltaics, power quality, building automation, motor control, programmable logic controllers, variable frequency drives, and the national Electrical Code.

This summer, the Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship recognized the JATC effort as a 21st Century Registered Apprenticeship Trailblazer and Innovator. It notes the apprenticeship demonstrates the kind of innovation and trailblazing efforts that have had a significant impact on the history of Registered Apprenticeship and has implications for Registered Apprenticeship in the 21st Century.