JATCs

One of the biggest stressors for service members during transition is the uncertainty of what to do and worries about financial well-being. By offering VEEP, JATCs are able provide a path to a civilian career, as well as bringing hardworking and dependable apprentices to the electrical industry. The goal of VEEP is to offer training nationwide to service members and veterans looking to make the transition to civilian life. However, VEEP needs training centers that are willing to participate in the program.

There are two ways a JATC can participate. Training JATCs will be offering the program to transitioning service members with support from Milwaukee and the Electrical Training Alliance. While Accepting JATCs will be willing to accept graduates from VEEP.

Training JATC

Training JATCs need to be within proximity of a military base, and that base needs to have a Career Skills Program (CSP) agreement in place allowing active duty service members this training opportunity. The Electrical Training Alliance will do the work of getting the CSP agreement in place in partnership with the national Helmets to Hardhats program. Once a CSP is in place, Training JATCs will be the “boots on the ground” to do recruiting.

Training for active duty personnel typically begins in the final 180 days of active duty and is delivered during normal working hours. In order to achieve this goal a 7 week day school format is required. Training JATCs will process applications, substance abuse testing, and aptitude tests similarly to the normal application process. Records will need to be maintained and forwarded to the electrical training ALLIANCE upon completion. Aptitude test scores are diagnostic only and are not used to filter applicants.

Training delivered will consist of the Inside 1st Year Curriculum, Building a Foundation in Mathematics Level I, plus a Craft Certification performance evaluation. This is the basis and backbone of the program. Graduates will have met standard guidelines for the inside curriculum and will be prepared to be an asset in their chosen home location. That home location might or might not be the training location. The pre-apprenticeship program described is approved by the electrical training ALLIANCE, though it is administered locally. The participants are not registered apprentices until they arrive at their chosen home location after graduation and release from active duty.

Training locations receive support from the electrical training ALLIANCE and Milwaukee Tools resulting in no cost enrollments, no cost book packages, and support for instructional costs. Milwuakee and the electrical training ALLIANCE have additionally sponsored gifts to the program, the graduates, and video recognition of efforts. The training location gains acknowledgment of their participation within the entire IBEW/NECA industry, the chance for local media exposure, the chance to influence congressional representation, recognition from the military branch for supporting their service members, and lastly a stronger relationship with local base personnel for the IBEW-NECA training program, organized labor and our NECA contractor partners.

Accepting JATC

In order to participate in the Veteran’s Electrical Entry Program (VEEP), a JATC wishing to accept graduate veterans must have a current set of DOL registered standards on file with the Electrical Training Alliance and Department of Labor. These must be current to the 2011 or more recent selection procedures. This allows the use of the VEEP program for the Direct Entry provisions for the graduating veterans. This is the Electrical Training Alliance approved VEEP pre-apprenticeship pathway to apprenticeship. It does not replace nor compete with any other veteran’s outreach programs that may be presently utilized in a given jurisdiction, but rather is a complimentary addition. Graduating veterans will have completed the first year inside curriculum and will be ready to start the second year of related training, with the understanding that the accepting JATC may have a first year curriculum that requires some “gap” training.