Organized Labor

The structures include boilers, refrigeration units, furnaces, heat exchangers, pipes, and tanks and may be located in refineries, powerhouses, petrochemical plants, food processing plants, ship engine rooms, or mechanical plants in high-rise buildings or hospitals.  Just as other workers in the construction industry, insulators sometimes encounter such dangerous materials as asbestos, lead, and toxic chemicals.  They are trained to work with and around them safely, but as a result they must be medically able to wear protective devices and clothing, such as respirators and full-body gear.  Insulators may work in very hot or very cold environments, in high places such as on scaffolds and ladders, and in confined spaces.  Apprentices lift and carry heavy objects.  Job sites change frequently, and apprentices must be willing and able to travel to jobs in any location in the jurisdiction of the apprenticeship program, which includes forty-seven counties in Northern California and ten counties in Western Nevada.

Apprenticeship
The Heat and Frost Insulator Apprentice program involves:

• 6000 hours (usually four years) of on-the-job training
• 576 hours of classes (144 hours a year)
• Most jobs require drug testing

Requirements for application:

• Proof of age
• High school diploma or equivalency certificate
• Applicants must have completed a one-year course of high school algebra or geometry with a passing grade.  A Verification of Education form will be provided upon application.  The applicant must provide the form to his or her high school.  Transcripts must be originals, with authorizing signatures and stamps or seals affixed.

Applicants with experience in the trade before entering the apprenticeship may request credit for this experience after indenture.  Prior experience will not confer advantage in application.

Applications are available and accepted the second Monday of every month between 9:00 a.m. to noon and from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at:
JATC Office
1320 Harbor Bay Parkway, Suite 222
Alameda, CA 94502
(510) 769-4200
and at locations in Fresno and Reno.  Applicants must appear in person.  Date and time of sign-up will be recorded and used in establishing selection.