Training

Thanks to our partnership with IBEW Local 134, we produce the best-trained electricians and communication technician training in the business. Click on the links to the left to find out more about our electrician training and communication technician training through the Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Trust (EJATT) and our participation in the National Joint Apprentice Training through the NJATC.

EJATT

The Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust oversees a five-year apprenticeship training program. Classes are held at the state-of-the-art IBEW/NECA Technical Institute on 26 acres in suburban Alsip, Illinois. The 120,000 square foot building consists of 12 large classroom areas, eight extensive laboratories, and full-size residential and commercial mock-up areas. The EJATT also utilizes 14,000 square feet of space at the Westside Technical Institute located in Chicago.

The program, registered with the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, currently has 1,200 apprentices enrolled and a full-time faculty to meet the needs of the electrical industry in Chicago and Cook County. The center is constantly updated with state-of-the-art technologies and equipment.

The NECA and IBEW Local 134 apprenticeship training program, jointly operated through the EJATT, is meeting the demands of the electrical construction industry by producing highly trained and skilled journeyman electricians. Apprentices in the program receive 8,000 of hours of classroom and instruction and on-the-job training, extensive safety education, and also gain experience in emerging technologies including photovoltaics and telecommunications. EJATT offers three specialized apprenticeship training programs: Construction, Communications, and Residential.

Training Programs through the Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Trust

Construction Training Program

The Construction Training Program provides apprentices with 8,000 hours of intensive training covering a broad range of electric work including steel and heavy industrial construction, the distribution and installation of electrical systems, and residential and communications technologies. The Construction Training Program provides the training essential to perform safe, high-quality electrical construction work.

Communications Training Program

The Communications Training Program provides apprentices with 8,000 hours of training in advanced telecommunications technologies— the future of electrical construction. Apprentices are trained in voice and data systems, security and alarm systems, Local and Wide Area Networks, telecommunications systems, fiber optic and video cabling, and networking. On the cutting edge of new technologies, this training program is producing highly trained and skilled journeyman electricians who are ready to meet Chicago's growing telecommunications needs.

Residential Training Program

The Residential Training Program provides apprentices with 8,000 hours of classroom and on-the-job training as well as extensive safety education and prepares them to perform work on new homes, condominiums, and apartments. This specialized program covers the installation of electrical systems within residential units, instrumentation, wiring, conduit bending, and circuiting.

The Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust (EJATT) is committed to increasing the number of qualified applicants who enter into the Apprenticeship program. It also works to ensure that a proper training curriculum is provided for apprentices and journey-level electricians.

The training facility has become a full-time operation with classes throughout the day, evening, and weekends to facilitate training for electricians in Chicago and Cook County. It is estimated that in excess of 426,000 man-hours of training are provided each year by the EJATT.

The above is only one example of the innovative ways the Association is working to advance the industry workforce and better prepare the industry for the future.

NJATC

The National Joint Apprentice Training Committee began in 1941 as a pioneering effort to provide superior training to apprentice electricians. Jointly funded and administered by NECA and IBEW, the program includes more than 300 local affiliates training more than 30,000 apprentices each year. The program produces the best-trained trades people in the country at no cost to taxpayers.