Philly Leader

This week Gov. Tom Wolf announced that $296,936 in grant funding will be used for the Apprentice Training for the Electrical Industry (ATEI).

In the May 24 announcement, Wolf said the funds, made possible through the Pennsylvania Pre-Apprenticeship and Apprenticeship Grant Program, will be used to train 30 electrical apprentices in year five of the Building Information Modeling (BIM).

“Apprenticeship programs provide the ability for individuals to earn a paycheck while also learning the skills they need to secure a good-paying job,” said Gov. Wolf. “These programs are critical, and the Wolf Administration remains committed to supporting apprenticeship programs across the commonwealth.”

As a component of Electrical Apprenticeship Training, the classes will be held at the Spring Garden Street ATEI location in Philadelphia. Apprentices will attend classes three days a week with nine week sessions for up to 18 students. 

“Apprentice Training for the Electrical Industry is very excited to be awarded this grant from DCED,” Director of Apprentice Training Michael Neill said. “Among other attributes, the grant allows us to add cutting-edge technology in the form of computer-aided-design curriculum to our most advanced apprentices. This knowledge positions individual workers for optimal electrical trades opportunities and translates to a better skilled workforce for the Philadelphia region’s electrical employers. We are committed to training Pennsylvania’s workers for the green jobs of tomorrow with the very latest technology of today.”

According to atei98.org, ATEI has served as the training arm for the IBEW Local Union 98 and the Penn-Del-Jersey chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) for more than 115 years. It offers training for new entrants into the electrical industry as well as experienced workers. The website said that apprenticeship is a training model that has existed for hundreds of years and provides on-the-job training and classroom training.

It also allows people to “earn-while-you-learn.” Under this program, new apprentices are assigned to a signatory employer and earn a paycheck while attending weekly related instruction and learning on-the job, the website said. Depending upon which apprenticeship program a student enters, the term of apprenticeship will vary. The Inside Wireman program, for example, consists of 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and approximately 1,080 hours of related classroom instruction.

There are five-year apprenticeship programs offered through ATEI where students learn in the classroom, in labs and in the workplace. They master a number of different concepts including, but not limited to, DC Theory, AC Theory, blueprint reading, code standards, fiber optics and conduit fabrication.