Fast Facts
About the Electrical Alliance
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- Established in 1997 by Local 26 International Brother of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and Washington, D.C. chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA)
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- IBEW, chartered in 1892, represents about 7,500 members from a variety of fields
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- NECA, chartered in 1903, represents about 200 contractors in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia
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- Apprenticeship training and continuing education is coordinated by the Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee (JATC)
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- The JATC apprenticeship program is highly competitive: less than 10% of applicants are accepted, and fewer than half of those accepted complete the program ensuring only the most highly-skilled electricians achieve journeyman status
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- Approximately 100-150 apprentices graduate into the local industry each year. In 2017, the JATC graduated a record 238 apprentices.
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- Accepted students, who must pass a written and oral exam, enter one of the following programs:
- Inside Wireman (five years): apprentice must receive 8,000 hours of on-the-job training under supervision of a qualified journeyman electrician and attend 800 hours of classroom related instruction
- Telecommunications (three years): apprentice must receive 4,800 hours of on-the-job training under supervision of a qualified installer/technician and attend 480 hours of classroom related instruction
- Accepted students, who must pass a written and oral exam, enter one of the following programs:
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- Apprentice training occurs at a state-of-the-art facility in Lanham, MD and on job sites around the region
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- According to the BLS, employment of electricians is projected to grow 14 percent from 2014 to 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations.
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- Salaries start in $80,000s for electricians who have completed the Washington, D.C. JATC’s accredited apprenticeship and work in the D.C. metropolitan area
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- In the Washington region, journeyman electricians can work over time and easily make over $100,000 a year