Delivering a well-trained start to a great career.
As the job requirements of Construction Craft Laborers (CCL) became more diverse and complex, LIUNA Training fought to gain an approved apprenticeship program for the CCL trade. In the early 1990s, we developed model national guidelines and worked with the Department of Labor, Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT) to register Apprenticeship Standards for the Occupation of Construction Craft Laborer. Approval was awarded in 1994. Over the next decade, 80 programs were registered by LIUNA local training centers in the United States. These apprenticeship programs create the best possible workforce of skilled CCLs for LIUNA locals and their affiliated contractors.
To be an apprentice, a worker must be 18 years old and have completed a high school degree or equivalency. An apprentice learns core skills through classroom and hands-on training as well as working on the job to gain practical experience under skilled workers.
Training and skills
Apprentices learn core construction skills then select electives from major industry segments: highway construction, environmental remediation (all types), and building construction. Course offerings span a variety of specialty skills such as pipeline, tunneling, asphalt, concrete, lead and asbestos abatement, radiation remediation, and even foreman training. Today's CCLs perform complex and physically demanding tasks that require critical thinking and technical skills. So, their apprenticeship training prepares them for a career by building a strong foundation.
Apprentices receive instruction in the skills of the trade, safety awareness and prevention, and the importance of union membership. To complete most CCL apprenticeship programs, an apprentice must have 4,000 hours of on-the-job training. In addition, he or she must attend a minimum of 144 hours of classroom instruction, in core courses and electives in each year of the apprenticeship period. Most apprentices graduate from their programs in approximately two years.
CCL core courses include: Blueprint Reading, Craft Orientation, First Aid/CPR, General Construction, Hazard Communication, OSHA Construction Safety and Health. Depending on the work in their geographic jurisdiction, apprentices may choose from the following elective courses:
Asbestos Abatement, - Asphalt,
- Concrete,
- Foreman Preparedness,
- Hazardous Waste Worker,
- Lead Abatement,
- Line and Grade,
- Mason Tending,
- Pipe Laying,
- Radiation Remediation,
- Underground Storage Tank Removal.
Apprentice graduates go on to challenging careers in one of the most diverse and rewarding industries.