Your Apprenticeship and Career
How a trades career works from the first day to running your own shop, followed through a first-year plumbing apprentice on a Columbus high-rise: choosing a trade and reading the labor market, registered apprenticeship under the National Apprenticeship Act and 29 CFR part 29 with Ohio as the example, finding a sponsor or JATC and registering, apprenticeship agreements, wage schedules, ratios and your rights, logging hours and competencies, related technical instruction, license exam preparation, state and local licensing and reciprocity, union and non-union paths, paying for an apprenticeship with wages, WIOA, the GI Bill and state programs, careers after licensing, and starting a small trade business.
TRD-107 12 lessons · 3 h 47 min ▶ Video lessons coming soon
Offered by HSM University · Trades Core
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Choose a trade by matching its work, physical demands, setting and lifestyle to yourself and by reading national, regional and local labor market information.
- Explain how registered apprenticeship works under the National Apprenticeship Act and 29 CFR part 29, including the roles of the Department of Labor, State Apprenticeship Agencies and sponsors, and how it differs from licensing.
- Prepare for, find and approach a sponsor, interview effectively and complete the registration that starts an apprenticeship.
- Describe what an apprenticeship agreement covers, calculate apprentice wages from a wage schedule, explain supervision ratios and act on problems with pay, school release or training.
- Keep accurate records of hours and competencies, request honest sign-offs, track the range of work and project a completion date.
- Prepare for and succeed in related technical instruction, fit classes around full-time work, and use the code book and labs effectively.
- Prepare for a certification or licensing exam using the exam blueprint, practice results, a study plan and good multiple-choice technique.
- Explain state and local licensing, using Ohio and Columbus as examples, along with reciprocity, universal recognition laws and national certifications.
- Compare union and non-union paths fairly, including how hiring, training, wages, benefits and work between jobs differ, and compare offers by total value.
- Identify the costs of an apprenticeship and the employer, federal and state supports available, and build a budget that covers lumpy costs.
- Describe career paths after certification, including specialist, foreman, superintendent, estimator, project manager, inspector, instructor and designer, and the training each needs.
- Outline the steps to start a small trade business, including structure, registrations, licenses, insurance, pricing from overhead and billable hours, contracts and cash flow.
Course content
12 lessons · 3 h 47 min total · final exam
- 1 Choosing a trade and reading the job market 19 min · quiz
- 2 Registered apprenticeship in the United States 19 min · quiz
- 3 Finding an employer sponsor and getting registered 19 min · quiz
- 4 Your agreement, wages and rights as an apprentice 19 min · quiz
- 5 Logging hours and competencies 19 min · quiz
- 6 Related technical instruction: classes and study 19 min · quiz
- 7 Certification exams and how to prepare 19 min · quiz
- 8 State and local licensing and reciprocity 19 min · quiz
- 9 Union and non-union paths 19 min · quiz
- 10 Paying for your apprenticeship: wages, grants, loans and tax breaks 18 min · quiz
- 11 After certification: foreman, estimator, inspector and other paths 19 min · quiz
- 12 Running your own business 19 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Description
How a trades career works from the first day to running your own shop, followed through a first-year plumbing apprentice on a Columbus high-rise: choosing a trade and reading the labor market, registered apprenticeship under the National Apprenticeship Act and 29 CFR part 29 with Ohio as the example, finding a sponsor or JATC and registering, apprenticeship agreements, wage schedules, ratios and your rights, logging hours and competencies, related technical instruction, license exam preparation, state and local licensing and reciprocity, union and non-union paths, paying for an apprenticeship with wages, WIOA, the GI Bill and state programs, careers after licensing, and starting a small trade business.