The National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee for the Electrical Industry (NJATC) has taken the first steps in the transition of the NJATC into the Electrical Training Alliance. The NJATC was created in 1941 by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) to develop and standardize training to educate the members of the IBEW and NECA, insuring they are providing the electrical construction industry with the most highly trained and highly skilled workforce.
NJATC Executive Director, Michael Callanan stated that over the past ten years the NJATC has become, in effect, “a diverse alliance of IBEW local unions, NECA electrical contractors, industry training partners and manufacturers, community colleges and universities, and public and private school systems.”
“Today, Callanan stated, we have over 300 joint apprenticeship training centers in the United States and Canada, over 100 electrical industry organizations and manufacturers and dozens of public and private organizations that are united by, and committed to, training the next generation of electrical workers.”
NJATC Director of Operations, Mark Cerulla revealed three primary drivers for the transition to the new organizational structure from the NJATC to the Electrical Training Alliance. “First, our new name better reflects the reality of our operation and the way we do business. We are truly an alliance of very diverse industry partners united by a common cause. Second, the NJATC, IBEW and NECA, over the course of the past ten years have been in the process of transforming our apprenticeship model. With the advent of a Core Curriculum Training Model; new National Guideline Apprenticeship Standards that provide greater latitude to local training centers; and the implementation of a Blended Learning model that leverages technology to improve our training outcomes, the timing was right for rebranding our organization to better reflect the scope and breadth of what we do. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, our new name and restructured organization will better allow us to meet the needs of the electrical industry and our customers. There simply is not a better electrical training infrastructure in the world and we need to ensure that our customers know and appreciate what stands behind each IBEW and NECA trained electrical worker.”
Callanan noted that “The NJATC as we know it will not disappear but will become a part of the Electrical Training Alliance.” The NJATC, Callanan stated has “served the IBEW and NECA, and our industry well for 73 years, I see the NJATC remaining an important part of the new alliance, perhaps transitioning into a Foundation that supports the greater mission of the new Electrical Training Alliance.” Callanan concluded, “no matter, what we are called and how we identify ourselves, the critical point is that we will remain committed to expanding our new alliance to include all entities and organizations that are united to expanding apprenticeship opportunities in the electrical industry that provide a pathway to the middle class for young men and women, through an “earn while you learn” model that ensures the most highly trained electrical workforce in the world.”
