Program Structure
The Southwestern Idaho Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, sponsored by the Idaho Chapter of NECA and the IBEW, runs a four-year Inside Wireman apprenticeship. Inside wiremen install conduit, wiring, fixtures and equipment in commercial buildings and industrial settings. Its current work process schedule requires 8,000 hours of on-the-job learning and at least 720 hours of related instruction, about 180 hours per period, using Electrical Training Alliance course material. The JATC places apprentices on jobs so they build the required hours. The training center is at 12302 W. Explorer Dr., Suite 130, in Boise; the sponsor does not publish a class timetable or a county list for its southwest Idaho area.
Requirements
You must be at least 18 when you are indentured. You need a high school diploma, GED or two-year associate degree or higher, with official transcripts, and one full year of high school algebra or one post-high-school algebra course with a passing grade; the Tech Math class can satisfy the algebra requirement. A valid driver's license is required, though it need not be from Idaho. Applicants who document at least 4,000 hours in electrical construction can have the education and algebra requirements waived. A felony does not stop you from applying. Apprentices need an Idaho electrical apprentice license; the sponsor's FAQ still points to the former Division of Building Safety application form.
Application Process
The JATC accepts applications all year long through its online TradeSchool portal. You have 30 days to upload or send everything required; transcripts can be emailed or mailed. Applicants who qualify take the Electrical Training Alliance aptitude test (algebra and reading, about three hours), held on the second Tuesday of each month; missing the test closes the application, and failed tests can be retaken after 90 days. A qualifying score leads to a NECA-IBEW committee interview about 30 days later and a ranking. Names stay on the eligibility list for one year, and not everyone is selected. Working as a construction wireman through IBEW 291 while applying is encouraged.
What You Earn
Apprentices are paid a percentage of the journeyman rate, starting at 49% and rising through six periods to 84%, with health insurance and pension plans. The sponsor's current example, based on a journeyman rate of $45.33 an hour, starts at $22.21 an hour plus $11.41 in employer-paid benefits; it calls all figures approximate and gives no effective date. There is no tuition for related training, but you pay for textbooks, hand tools, work clothes and required licenses. Idaho's Public Works Contractors Licensing Board lists the JATC among board-approved electrical apprenticeship programs. Completing the apprenticeship and earning a journeyman license are separate steps.