In an effort to expand opportunities to job seekers, the Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA) recently announced its partnership with Independent Electrical Contractors Chesapeake (IECC) to deliver training and other services in a fully accredited, Year 1 electrical apprenticeship program for IECC member companies. This accredited apprenticeship leads to a journey worker’s license for electricians.
This offering will be available for Year 1 electrical apprenticeship with the additional three required years (resulting in licensure) to be available in the future. CCWA will deliver the electrical training courses with IECC curriculum in newly renovated skilled trades training facilities on the downtown campus of Reynolds Community College.
Throughout the duration of the program, apprentices work full-time and attend classes two nights per week, providing the 8,000 hours of on-the-job and classroom training required for the journeyman electrician license. Because the curriculum is recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship Training, students receive nationally recognized credentials as a journeyman electrician upon satisfactory completion of the program. Most students enroll with the ambition of earning their journeyman or master electricians license, and many graduates go on to become project managers, foremen, estimators, and business owners.
“IEC Chesapeake is excited about the opportunity to expand the organization’s footprint further south into Virginia” said Grant Shmelzer, IECC’s chief executive officer and executive director. “This program includes hands-on training as well as exposure to all aspects of the electrical industry including residential, commercial, and industrial. Also included in this program is exposure to emerging technology such as solar, electric vehicle charging, low voltage, and systems.”
IECC is the sponsor for the apprentices, manages the apprenticeships for the employers, and tracks the apprentices’ training and education. CCWA leads the related instruction and provides the formal instruction to the apprentices during their planned apprenticeship.
Registration for the first cohort of apprentices will begin in the summer of 2023 for classes that begin in October. For more information, https://www.iecchesapeake.com/apply-now/.
