Longtime JATC instructor, Chris Cash, has been appointed training director at Washington, D.C.’s electrical apprenticeship program, the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (JATC).
As JATC director, Cash maintains a program that provides tuition-free electrical training to hundreds of apprentices. The program graduates more than 100 highly-trained apprentices into the region’s electrical construction field annually. Graduates have studied the core tenants of electrical construction as well as cutting-edge energy efficiency and green technologies. Cash’s primary focus is on keeping Washington, D.C.’s JATC program among the best in the country.
Cash started his career in electrical construction nearly 27 years ago. After attending college for two years, Cash switched gears; applied for the apprenticeship and was accepted into the 5-year program. He graduated from the Washington, D.C. JATC Inside Wireman Apprenticeship in 1995.
“I tried out the profession by working as a summer helper prior to applying, which is a strategy I highly recommend to others considering a career in the field,” said Cash.
After graduating from the apprenticeship, he spent 12 years as a foreman or subforeman on dozens of projects around the Washington, D.C. metro region. In 2003, he started teaching at night for the JATC’s Manassas training center which led to a full-time day teaching position in 2007. In 2014 he became the school coordinator in Manassas. Cash holds Virginia and Charles County (MD) Journeyman’s licenses.
Cash is optimistic about his role and the future for the apprentices he is training.
“I’ve experienced a lot of support and am establishing good working relationships with IBEW and NECA leaders as well as the electrical contractors in the field,” said Cash. “And, there is a bright future for electrical construction work in our area.”
The JATC is sponsored by the Electrical Alliance, a cooperative effort between the Washington, D.C. Chapter of National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 26.
