Carpenters Joint Apprenticeship Training Program

The Apprenticeship program is a four year, formalized registered apprenticeship program approved by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Apprentices must attend close to 1000 hours of related technical classroom instruction and up to 8,000 hours of on-the-job practical training to achive journeymen status. As their training progresses, apprentices earn more until they become full carpenters, called “journeymen,” and are then paid at the journeymen rate.

The apprenticeship program is designed to thoroughly develop the talents and skills of up-and-coming carpenters. The program is a combination of classroom learning and job site employment. Apprentices attend classes for one 8 hour day per week and complete 32 hours of on the job training during that week. This system is designed to accommodate the needs of contractors and apprentices alike. . As a result, apprentices are continuously building upon their knowledge and skill base while solidifying these lessons in a practical job site setting.

The program allows carpenter apprentices to earn wages and benefits that enable them to provide for themselves and their families, while learning from the most-experienced professionals both in the classroom and on-site.  Typically, apprentices start around 40% of the journeymen pay scale.

Carpenter’s Union

The United Brotherhood of Carpenters is North America’s largest building-trades union, with more than a half-million members in the construction and wood-products industries.

We recognize that for the union to remain strong, our signatory contractors need to succeed in today’s highly competitive marketplace – and our signatory contractors do that with workers committed to safety, productivity, and the proud legacy of our Brotherhood.

Skills, safety, and productivity have brought our members fair wages, good benefits, and dignity in work and retirement since the Brotherhood was founded in 1881.