About Southeast Iowa JATC

Our Goals

The National Electrical Contractors Association of Southeast Iowa and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 13 jointly sponsor this apprenticeship training program that offers you the opportunity to earn wages and benefits while you learn the skills for a trade that can be both, challenging and rewarding. You will have the chance to use your mind, as well as your physical skills, to complete work in a variety of settings with the constant opportunity to learn something new.

The Southeast Iowa JATC is not only committed to training the apprentice to be the best in the industry,  we also want the graduate to have the ability to provide for his family needs with a living wage and secure his future with a comfortable retirement. We truly  believe in the American dream and are helping those in the electrical trades to make it happen.

Nationally Approved Program

The Southeast JATC Program has been approved by the US Department of Labor and the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee. We use the classroom curriculum developed by the NJATC and train our apprentice instructors in the teaching methods they endorse to produce one of the best electrical training programs available today. All five levels of the program are revised every year to keep up with the latest technologies and recent changes in the National Electrical Code to ensure the apprentice is being taught the most up to date information possible. The NJATC has long been recognized as the standard for Electrical Apprenticeship Programs in the United States and there is no doubt it will continue to be in the future.

What is an Electrical Apprenticeship

Basically, it is an agreement between the Southeast Iowa JATC Program and a group of individuals wanting a career in the electrical construction trade. Over the five years of this agreement, the Apprenticeship Program agrees to provide the classroom and on the job training necessary for those individuals to become a skilled qualified journeyman electrician. In return, the selected applicants agree to attend weekly classes one night a week for five years, successfully complete classroom assignments and pass the associated test. They will also have to demonstrate they will be dependable employees on the job by maintaining an acceptable work record, along with the ability to follow instructions given by supervisors.

Earn While You Learn

After acceptance into the Southeast Iowa JATC program, apprentices are placed with NECA contractors where they will be able to use their classroom training in actual field experiences. This is where our program differs from most vocational schools. The apprentice gets paid a wage while he gets valuable on the job training, plus he receives health insurance and pension benefits after the qualifying requirements are met. Unlike most employer benefit plans today, the insurance premiums and pension contributions are a negotiated amount paid by the employer for every hour you work and not a deduction from your check. That by itself could be a significant point over the lifetime of an individuals career in electrical construction. The pay scale is based on a percentage of the current journeyman wage that increases as the apprentice advances through the classroom and job requirements, right up until the time the program is completed. Most other programs don’t even come close to offering this kind of wage package while learning a trade.

If your interested in a career in the electrical construction trade, then you owe it to yourself to check our program out!

Apprenticeship Committee Members

IBEW Local 13

• Thomas Schleich
• Hunter Smoot
• Thomas Rehman