The Electrical Training Alliance and NECA-IBEW Team Opens New Educational Training Facility
Knoxville, TN (PRWEB) December 31, 2014 -- In its ongoing commitment to providing cutting-edge training and continuing education for workers in the electrical design and construction industry, the Electrical Training Alliance has opened a new training center in Knoxville, TN. The Electrical Training Alliance is the training and educational arm of the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (NECA-IBEW).
The new Electrician Training Academy at Knoxville (ETAK) is one of nearly 300 such electrical training centers located across the United States. These centers which are funded by NECA-IBEW member contributions provide apprenticeships as well as opportunities for electricians to upgrade their skills. This annual funding comes to approximately $180 million – nearly twice the Federal budget for similar programs.
Dominic Giarratano, who hosts the web-based series Electric TV, says, “Apprenticeship programs that employ work-based learning models...are considered by the U.S. Department of Labor to be on the cutting edge [of] innovation.”
The curriculum used in these electrical training programs and their development are based on national standards established by NECA-IBEW, but are implemented on the local level. These efforts require the combined efforts of management as well as labor, which is a large part of why NECA-IBEW exists.
“In order for this country's economy to continue to grow and thrive in a competitive global environment, we need the right people with the right skills,” Giarratano adds.
Centers similar to the new Knoxville Training Center have an excellent record of producing expert workers and engineers in the constantly changing and often challenging field of electrical design and construction.
Justin Wojciechowski, a 4th-year apprentice, accurately sums it up, saying, “We know that our labor is going to be our highest cost...if we're going to do our customers any justice, it's going to be to go to a job site...and provide them with the most knowledgeable guys.”
For more information, visit ElectricTV.net, browse its YouTube channel or view this latest video on Electric TV.
About Electric TV
Electric TV is an ongoing project of the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, dedicated to raising public awareness of the contributions of these electrical labor organizations as well as providing the latest news on current and emerging electrical technology and how these are changing society and everyday life for people around the world through short, informative video presentations.
Dominic Giarratano, Electric TV, http://www.electrictv.net, +1 (303) 601-2982, [email protected]
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