Program Structure
The IBEW Local 102 JATC trains inside wireman apprentices for IBEW Local 102. The program lasts 5 years, with at least 900 hours of classroom instruction and at least 8,000 hours of on-the-job training. Classroom training is one 8-hour day a week, every other week, across 23 class weeks; in those weeks you work the remaining 32 hours. Inside wireman apprentices work in Local 102's jurisdiction: Passaic, Sussex, Morris, Union, Warren, Hunterdon and Somerset counties and parts of Bergen County in New Jersey, and the eastern parts of Pike, Northampton, Bucks and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania. The local says there is no guarantee of work. Training takes place in Local 102's 16,000-square-foot training facility; the JATC's sponsor address is 50 Parsippany Road, Parsippany.
Requirements
You must be at least 17 to apply and 18 at indenture (18 by July); be a high school graduate or have a GED or a two-year associate degree or higher; have passed one full year of high school algebra, or one post-high-school algebra course; and have OSHA 30 construction training. You upload a valid driver's license, proof of algebra, an official high school transcript and your OSHA 30 card. Every inside wireman applicant takes an aptitude test, tentatively scheduled in the spring, and needs a passing grade to be interviewed. Accepted applicants take a drug test.
Application Process
Applications for the September 2027 class are submitted online only, through the JATC's application portal, which opens on set days. The next one listed is December 1, 2026: the portal opens at 9 a.m. and closes at noon, or once 200 inside wireman applicants have applied that day, whichever comes first. After applying you have 30 days to upload every required document, and the JATC must receive your transcripts directly from the school. The $50 application processing fee is non-refundable. The JATC says application dates can change, so check its page before you apply. For training center questions, call 973-428-2848.
What You Earn
First-year inside wireman apprentices start at $26.17 an hour, 40% of the journeyman rate; raises follow each completed year of school and the required work hours. The local says these figures follow its current agreement and may change around June 1 each year. Health and welfare benefits start after your first 300 hours worked (dental and vision after two years), and pension, annuity and a personal fund start in your first year of membership. There is no cost for training except course materials. The U.S. Department of Labor's apprenticeship sponsor data lists the IBEW Local 102 JATC as a sponsor at 50 Parsippany Road, Parsippany.