Program Structure
Apprentice Training for the Electrical Industry (ATEI) is the training arm of IBEW Local Union 98 and the Penn-Del-Jersey Chapter of NECA. Its Inside Wireman apprenticeship is earn-while-you-learn: new apprentices are assigned to a signatory employer and are paid while they learn on the job and attend weekly related instruction. The program consists of 8,000 hours of on-the-job training and approximately 1,080 hours of related classroom instruction. ATEI's training facility is in Philadelphia's Navy Yard. ATEI does not state the program's length in years.
ATEI also runs a separate Sound & Telecommunications apprenticeship, with its own monthly application day. This listing covers only the inside wireman program, which ATEI's application page calls the Electrical (Wireman) Program.
Requirements
At the time of application you must be at least 18 and have a high school diploma or GED. You also need one year of high school algebra with a passing grade, an official high school transcript, and a qualifying score on an aptitude test.
Application Process
ATEI takes applications for the Electrical (Wireman) Program during the first two full weeks of April each year, Monday through Friday from 12:00 to 4:00 PM. You apply in person at 1101 Kitty Hawk Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19112, and pay a $40 processing fee by money order; cash and personal checks are not accepted. For more information, call 215-567-6405.
A separate Zone 2 location at 4020 Crosskeys Road, Collegeville, PA 19426 takes Electrical (Wireman) applications from January 1 through the second Friday of April, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with a $20 processing fee, also by money order only. ATEI notes that the Zone 2 location is not licensed by the Pennsylvania State Board of Private Licensed Schools. Its phone number is 610-489-6399.
What You Earn
Apprentices are paid by the signatory employer they are assigned to, but ATEI does not publish apprentice wage rates, benefits, tuition, or book and tool costs. The processing fee is the only cost ATEI lists. ATEI's pages do not state the program's registration status or registering agency.