Apprenticeship programs are co-sponsored by the IUPAT/FTI to meet the ever-changing needs of the industry and the affiliates it serves. The apprenticeship program follows a program of study that ensures apprentices will learn the theoretical knowledge and the practical skills necessary to be successful in your chosen trade.

During your apprenticeship, you will learn through a hybrid approach that uses a combination of related classroom instruction and on-the-job learning to achieve the competencies and skills that meet the program’s requirements. Students will complete the required hours in their selected program which will include a minimum of 144 hours of classroom instruction as well as the required minimum on-the-job hours per year of apprenticeship as mandated by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The curriculum will include a core body of knowledge that will include an introduction to the Union and the finishing trades; health and safety; and leadership and professional development. All apprentices will be assessed on their acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities in both the core and trade-specific curriculum through hands-on and written tests as well as measurement of performance performing tasks on the job.

The IUPAT and its signatory employers established the FTI to provide ongoing education and training for all our union members. Our mission is to continue to set the standard of excellence in the many trades our members represent.

Also, of great advantage to our members is access to the Finishing Trades Institute’s Learning Management System (LMS); a secure web-based learning portal designed for the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training programs, classroom and online events, e-learning programs, and training content. It is an accessible way of providing apprenticeship training course materials to registered FTI LMS users.

The FTI curriculum and training centers constantly evolve to remain at the cutting edge of our trades.

You Should Know

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More Facts

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that construction managers made $93,900 a year on average as of May 2011.
The highest-paid 10 percent of managers earned over $149,070 a year, while the lowest-paid 10 percent made less than $50,650.
Fifty percent of construction managers earned between $64,780 and $112,020 a year.
An average union construction worker makes more than the average computer worker and has better benefits than the average big company employee.
Construction work employs more people in North America than most any other industry.
Union construction commands higher wages, better health, welfare, and pension benefits, more political influence, better working conditions, more bargaining power, and money for training.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, 8.7 million Americans worked in construction as of 2010.
As of 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the median wage for basic construction laborers was $29,280 a year.
The FTI and its regional training centers provide craft-specific training, education, and on-the-job learning opportunities in 8 apprenticeable crafts.
FTI instructors are craft experts trained in the development and use of instructional aides, communication skills and classroom organizational techniques, as well as adult learning principles.
The FTI uses a DOL approved program of study for each of the trades it represents.
Students of the FTI learn through classroom instruction and hands-on skills practice with industry experts.
FTI students are employable.
You will be trained to work according to safe work practices and to recognize health and safety hazards to yourself, your co-workers, and the surrounding environment.
An average union construction worker makes more than the average computer worker and has better benefits than the average big company employee.
Construction work employs more people in North America than most any other industry.
Union construction commands higher wages, better health and welfare benefits, full employment, more political influence, better pension benefits, better working conditions, more bargaining power, and more money for training.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, 8.7 million Americans worked in construction as of 2010.
As of 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that the median wage for basic construction laborers was $29,280 a year.