APPRENTICESHIP READINESS AND MULTI-CRAFT CORE CURRICULUM (MC3)
The Baltimore/D.C. Metro Building Trades Council and our affiliate unions have partnered with local government, community organization and contractors to establish numerous pre-apprenticeship programs in our region, including in Baltimore City, Prince George’s County and with the D.C. Department of Youth and D.C. Department of Employment Services.
Because of our unique relationship with our long-standing registered apprenticeship programs, our employer partners and our industry experience, we have been able place over 80 percent of participants in pre-apprenticeship readiness programs into apprenticeship programs, empowering these individuals to start rewarding careers in the construction industry.
Photo: S.C. Air National Guard
Pre-apprenticeship programs are workforce training programs that prepare participants to apply for, enter, and successfully complete a building trades apprenticeship program.
Photo: Ironworkers Local 5
Pre-apprenticeship Programs
Pre-apprenticeship programs are workforce training programs that prepare participants to apply for, enter, and successfully complete a building trades apprenticeship program. In short, they are a pathway into a middle-class career in the construction industry.
Construction is an industry that will always need skilled workers. And it is one of the last remaining industries in the United States where the labor cannot be outsourced.
Economists and industry analysts are predicting a powerful surge in demand for skilled craft labor over the next 15-20 years, as baby boomers retire and construction spending rises significantly. As a result, there is increasing opportunity for workers to enter apprenticeships.
Many people are drawn to the building and construction trades because they enjoy an active, hands-on job that features variety, and one where they can see the outcome of their work. Others cite a deep satisfaction with being part of an important project in their community, or being trusted to tackle a challenging portion of a high-profile project that allows them to showcase their high levels of skill.
The Union Advantage
It’s easy to find a job in construction, but becoming a skilled journey worker via a joint industry registered apprenticeship program is a career choice that will provide a lifetime of benefit.
Each union affiliated with North America’s Building Trades Unions has its own apprenticeship program. In total, there are over 30 specialized apprenticeship programs.
Unlike any other program of its kind, union apprenticeship allows apprentices to enjoy the benefits of an earn-while-you-learn education and career training. Once accepted into a program, apprentices learn their trade and attend a specific number of hours of classroom training, all hours of which are paid. This classroom training, which is directly related to their new career, provides the necessary safety and entry-level trade skills. On the job-site, apprentices work with a skilled journey worker, learning how to become the very best in their craft.
And training doesn’t stop at journey-level status. In the union construction industry, all craft workers are strongly encouraged to continually upgrade their skills and further their education, learning and growing throughout their careers.
Multi-Craft Core Curriculum
In 2007, the National Standing Committee on Apprenticeship and Training of North America’s Building Trades Unions identified common elements from all building trades’ apprenticeship programs, without regard to a particular craft.
In other words, a “common core curriculum.” This was the basis for the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3), which is increasingly being used as the foundation for pre-apprenticeship programs across America.
The specific topics that are taught in the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum include:
- General orientation to apprenticeship
- Intro to the construction industry
- CPR and first aid
- OSHA 10-hour safety certification
- Blueprint reading
- Applied mathematics for construction
- Identifying and preventing sexual harassment and discrimination
- History of the construction industry
- The heritage of the American worker
- How to interview effectively
- Green construction techniques and standards
The Multi-Craft Core Curriculum provides a gateway to a career in any of the building trades — from high school to joint registered apprenticeship to community and four-year college and beyond.
Photo: Insulators Local 24