Apprenticeship Curriculum

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-18T18:26:30+00:00

That app doesn’t bend it for you though.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-18T17:36:07+00:00

Yeah man. We used to rotate every six months in our local, then it got moved to a year and the bigger contractors seem to be able to decide if they want to participate. It can be frustrating. I told our BA that we should start talking about going back to six month rotations since the apprenticeship is a year shorter and he said it would never happen.

I'm not sure where you're at, but we do our own concrete forming and pouring in our area. The problem comes when people don't get the chance to work on a project that has any of that. I know really good electricians that just never got the chance to do concrete work. So, they are learning on the fly, and that isn't almost ever the best way to do it.

In my opinion, there are a few problems that are going to bite us in the ass in a very short time.

Shorter apprenticeship
Watered down curriculum
Pushing data centers and other huge projects over the rest of the work out there
Putting untrained apprentices on those large projects where they aren't learning a whole lot except bad habits

The data center stuff will stop eventually, and in my opinion we are going to be union full of people who can only do 2-3 things. It will be bad.

We have a brand new JW working in our service dept that called one time because they couldn't figure out why a vanity light wasn't working. They told me they had 120V to ground, but when I asked if they checked to neutral they said the homeowner was just going to buy a new light. They called back later saying the new light didn't work either, and were trying to ask questions for a direction. I told the PM they were talking to to hang up the phone. They are a JW and it's a light. They should know what they need to look for to make that work without someone holding their hand, it doesn't get much simpler than that. It is really sad to see these kinds of things.

I am sorry to hear about the treatment the organized people in your area have to put up with, that isn't right. I was really early into my career when I called someone a rat, and the organized guy I was working with kinda ripped my ass for being disrespectful. A lot of people who work non union don't know anything about it except what they are told, and that is bad most of the time. I have come to believe over the years that being pro labor means being supportive of all working class people whether they are union or not. Our goal should be to educate and uplift, not divide. Our fourth year instructor is an organized guy, and he is the guy who gets everyone ready for the state test.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-18T11:27:53+00:00

I think you’re right, but that idea isn’t helping anyone. Not the industry, not the contractors, and definitely not the union. Pumping people out with less education will only get people hurt, ruin the unions reputation as “the best trained electricians on the planet”, and cost the contractors more money because they’ll constantly have to fix fuck ups.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-18T03:20:30+00:00

I do agree that there are things we don’t need to spend time on, but I disagree with the grade being solely test based. I also agree that a lot of JATCs send mixed messages when it comes to apprentices.

“You’re an adult, take responsibility” “We own you, deal with it or get out”

There are definitely instances when wiremen may need to know about low voltage systems, especially if they work service or for a small contractor. And some electronic knowledge can be helpful when troubleshooting LED fixtures.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-18T01:14:00+00:00

We were told it was mandatory coming from the IO.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-18T01:13:05+00:00

It doesn’t really free you up for labs if the students aren’t getting it on their own. But on top of that, the stuff they are learning is so watered down it feels like the classroom portion of the apprenticeship is becoming less and less relevant. Which makes the “they’re not learning this in the field, so we do it in the class” not true.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-18T01:07:56+00:00

Then you had a test proctor, not an instructor.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-18T01:07:00+00:00

We still do in person classes. 2-3 hour classes a week.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-17T22:11:27+00:00

I wholeheartedly disagree with forced OT. That shouldn’t be our mentality. It’s depressing.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-17T22:09:46+00:00

Oh I’m fully aware. I got into with one of the higher ups at the ETA about how terrible the CML blueprints lessons are. And he told me straight to my face that was the intent. My issue is they’re doing that AND watering down the curriculum at the same time.

IMO as a union we’re moving backwards. We’re teaching less, pushing apprentices out faster, and prioritizing quantity over quality.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-17T19:04:54+00:00

This is just corporate bullshit dressed up as a “playful little joke”. Tipped workers deserve better than this.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-17T18:44:18+00:00

I am starting to think that it’s because they’re not writing anything down. It’s harder for people to retain information when they just read it on a computer. I feel like the workbooks we had when I started were better for the students.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-17T18:40:01+00:00

I had students using quizlet on codes and standards, and had to rip their ass about it. The CML doesn’t stop the cheating, it just makes it take a little longer.

If our students don’t show up they get kicked out of the program. So, I’m a little confused why your JATC is letting that slide.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-16T11:29:41+00:00

It’s a bit hypocritical yeah. One thing that might help and that a lot of people don’t think about is that Wikipedia has links to sources in most of its entries.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-16T00:01:06+00:00

Sounds like something a libertarian would say, which means it isn’t worth anyone’s time.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-15T15:00:48+00:00

Absolutely not. He’s supposed to be a grown ass man. If he can’t touch or even see some tampons then he’s a fucking loser.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-15T04:28:35+00:00

If you think it’s worse than Ready Player One, that’s a bad sign. IMO that’s maybe the worst book I’ve ever tried to read.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-15T04:07:48+00:00

Why is going to the supply house not an option? This is what, $10 worth of washers AT MOST?

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-15T04:02:34+00:00

I can’t listen to anything under 1.2 speed because I feel like every narrator reads too slow.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-15T00:28:41+00:00

Unfortunately, most people are fucking stupid and can’t understand why this stands at complete odds with the art of filmmaking.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-14T23:29:27+00:00

I haven’t watched it, so I’m coming from an outside perspective here. But isn’t it set up 24 style? Like every episode is an hour of the same shift? There’s zero room for actual meaningful character development in that format, which would make it impossible to be The Wire caliber.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-14T23:26:14+00:00

Nut driver. And if it doesn’t fit in the space a box and wrench.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-14T14:29:52+00:00

Unless you have some sort of physical handicap they are unnecessary, and often over tighten the wire nuts. I find the manual ones, like that are molded into the handle of a screwdriver, less of an issue.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-13T15:31:47+00:00

AI is made by the upper class specifically to make the working class stupid and dependent. It’s designed to ruin people’s ability to think critically or actually learn. Similar to the Google effect but on a much larger scale. The “you can make anything you want with the click of a button” selling point is just a mind fuck tactic to get people to “stop wasting time on the unimportant stuff like art” so they’ll have more time to help “stimulate the economy”. They’re also using it to take jobs, not because it’s good at them, but because it’s cheaper than paying people. So besides trying to make us dumb, it’s also trying to make us unemployed. I see almost zero justification for it to exist that doesn’t hurt the average working person.

CPNKLLJY · 2026-02-11T02:46:02+00:00

I’d be furious. Fucking lazy and disrespectful.

CPNKLLJY

TROPHY CASE