This program is a 3-year training program with standards approved in the State of Maryland, Commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia. The program requires that each apprentice receive 4,800 hours of on the job training with the supervision of qualified Installer/Technicians. The Washington D.C. Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee places apprentices with contractors who are performing Telecommunication work in the jurisdiction of Local 26.
While in the apprenticeship program apprentices are required to attend 480 hours of classroom related instruction. During the first two years of apprenticeship, an apprentice will attend school one day, every two weeks, year round for a minimum of 23 days in a 12-month period. While attending Day School, apprentices will be taught the curriculum which is set in place by the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC). This Curriculum consists of the following:
- AC THEORY
- DC THEORY
- JOB SAFETY
- HISTORY OF THE IBEW AND NECA
- BLUEPRINT READING
- CATEGORY 5 WIRING
- STRUCTURED WIRING SYSTEMS
- CONFIGURING LOCAL AREA NETWORKS
- FIBER OPTICS
- SECURITY SYSTEMS
For the days that apprentices attend school and are not on the job, they receive attendance checks after successfully completing the day’s coursework. In the last year of apprenticeship, apprentices choose elective classes and attend school one night a week from September through May.
The NECA/IBEW Local 26 JATC is a certified Building Industry Consulting Services International (BICSI) Training site since 1998. After completion of each year of the NJATC curriculum, each apprentice will attend a 40-hour level of BICSI Training. The BICSI standards are found in many of the telecommunication specifications, which apply to the installation of Tele/Data work nationwide. There are four levels of BICSI training, ITS Installer Level 1, ITS Installer Level 2- copper, ITS Level 2- optical fiber, and ITS Technician Level. After completing each year of curriculum they will take the corresponding 40-hour block of BICSI training and will complete written and hands-on tests. Successful apprentices will be BICSI certified.
Individuals in this program will receive pay increases during the course of their apprenticeship based on the amount of hours they have successfully completed in the program. Those raises are set in the following increments:
| 65% | $21.19/hr. | 1st Period |
| Completion of 800 hours O.J.T., six months, and satisfactory school performance | ||
| 70% | $22.82/hr. | 2nd Period |
| Completion of 800 hours O.J.T., six months, and satisfactory school performance | ||
| 75% | $24.45/hr. | 3rd Period |
| Completion of 800 hours O.J.T., six months, and satisfactory school performance | ||
| 80% | $26.08/hr. | 4th Period |
| Completion of 800 hours O.J.T., six months, and satisfactory school performance | ||
| 85% | $27.71/hr. | 5th Period |
| Completion of 800 hours O.J.T., six months, and satisfactory school performance | ||
| 90% | $29.34/hr. | 6th Period |
| Completion of 800 hours O.J.T., six months, and satisfactory school performance |
An individual who completes the three year apprenticeship program and DOES NOT have a BICSI Tech license, will become a Journeyman Installer Technician 1 in Local Union 26:
$31.05/hr. plus Paid Benefits
An individual who completes the three year apprenticeship program and HAS a BICSI Tech license, will become a Journeyman Installer Technician 2 in Local Union 26:
$33.04/hr. plus Paid Benefits