TRAINING UPDATE

FAQ: Apprenticeship

Frequently Asked Questions: Last month, we dealt with Frequently Asked Questions about Grandparenting. This month (and next): Apprenticeship.

Most Frequently Asked Question (although the questioner is not always aware it’s a question about apprenticeship: How do I get a job as a Labourer? Or, how can I become a member of Local 506?

At the 1996 and 2001 international conventions of the Labourers International Union of North America, resolutions were passed that all new members should enter by means of apprenticeship. So, in most cases it is necessary to complete the Construction Craft Worker apprenticeship in order to work in construction as a member of LIUNA, as a member of Local 506 or any other local.

How do I become an apprentice?

Submit an application. Apply on-line, or pick up an application at the Union Hall or at Ambercroft Training Centre, or call the Training Centre at 905-883-4268 or 1-877-883-4268 and we will mail one to you. And then drop it off, mail it back, fax it to us – your choice.

Applicants with suitable qualifications – we require age 18, driver’s licence, work experience and prefer (but don’t require) construction experience – are invited to an Assessment session where they are tested on Tool and Equipment Identification, Trade Mathematics, and Reading Comprehension. On the basis of these test results we interview several applicants and select trainees.

When does the training take place?

We have three intakes a year, training approximately 40 apprentices. (If we trained more than that we wouldn’t be able to guarantee employment.) The next class starts on March 24 – we have already selected some of the apprentices for this class and are in the process of assessing other applicants. Anybody who applies now will not be invited before May and, more likely, not until the fall.

I have a friend who works at Hydro – how do I get to work there?

Some members are sent to work at Ontario Hydro in Pickering, but we do not recruit people specifically to work there. If you don’t want to work in construction, we can’t help you.

Next month: costs, etc.