NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center

About

Industry training for union electrical apprentices and journeymen

Story

Welcome to the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center. Please read on to discover the level of commitment that our training center adheres to, ensuring that the training we provide to the electrical industry is second to none.


The NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center
The NECA-IBEW Electrical Apprenticeship program was formed in 1929, and has occupied several different buildings as its center of training excellence. In 1998, due to tremendous growth of the apprenticeship program, the current NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center was built - a center constructed specifically to train electrical workers, and one that has set an example for industry training across the country.

National Training Institute, Instructors as Students
Every summer, our NECA-IBEW instructors head to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where they spend a week in classes taught by professional educators from universities throughout the country. The four-year program provides the essentials for good instruction and laboratory management: Principles of Learning, Elements of Trade Teaching, Planning and Presenting Related Material, Using Instructional Technology, Performance Evaluations, Teaching and Managing a Technical Laboratory, Methods for Group Discussions, Promoting Participation, and Mentoring the Learning Experience. Beyond the four-year certificate, instructors then return to focus on technical classes such as Photovoltaic Technologies, Programmable Logic Controllers, Fire Alarm Systems, and LED Lighting. All NIETC instructors are Journeymen Electricians, and providing them with the opportunity to learn techniques from professional educators has proven to be a successful model. Our average graduation rate of 92% is a testament to our training.

Diversity
The NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center is proud of its commitment to recruiting talent from the diverse communities that make up the population of the Pacific Northwest. Our current apprentice population is comprised of 11.34% female and 13.36% minority apprentices. Although we surpass national norms, we continue to strive to make all communities apprenticeship-aware so that everyone has access to exceptional training and a rewarding career in the electrical industry.

Apprentice Performance Evaluations
Throughout an apprentice’s training, the NECA contractor for whom they are working regularly rates apprentice performance. NECA contractors receive a customized breakdown of how many hours the apprentice has worked in each discipline, as well as a note of what term of school the apprentice is currently enrolled in and what topics are being covered. This evaluation approach aligns real-world training with classroom instruction.

Apprentice Craft Certification
The NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center has adopted Craft Certification. This Performance Evaluation is a hands-on evaluation which includes a variety of tasks which must be completed. The tasks are based on an individual’s analysis of a blueprint drawing and a job specification page. These documents provide all information necessary to complete the evaluation.

Apprentices are required to demonstrate their abilities in conduit bending, branch circuit wiring, transformers, motor controls, and fire alarm and associated communications circuits. These evaluations are completed at the end of each semester and the apprentice must demonstrate competence prior to advancing to the next level.

These evaluations incorporate the typical written test model and combine it with a hands-on evaluation, assuring that we are producing an apprentice that is both mentally and physically able to do the work of a Journey-level wireman.

Supplementary classes are offered to assist apprentices in areas needing improvement and to provide the opportunity for them to work on systems that they may not receive much exposure to while on the job site.

The high standards that the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center holds itself to ensures competence and productivity for our membership and our industry, and we are proud to graduate Journeymen who are “Craft Certified”.