HOME : The apprenticeship qualification process
The Selection Interview
Up to the point of the selection interview, the applicant process determines only that the basic qualifications are met by the applicant. At the selection interview, the applicant meets personally with the members of the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee.
The Committee has before it the individual’s application with supporting documents, the qualifying test scores, and the results of the aptitude test, if used. The personal interview is designed to gather other information which indicates whether the applicant can and will successfully complete the apprenticeship.
The Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee is composed of people who are representatives of both the contractors who will employee apprentices, and of the journeymen who will teach and work with them on the job.
During the course of the interview, which is conducted on an informal and “get acquainted” basis, the Committee evaluates the applicant in these respects:
- Attitudes: toward oneself, fellow workers, supervisors, and society in general.
- Appearance: reflecting their physical condition, personal habits and handicaps.
- Concept of the trade: work experience and familiarity with the trade; school subjects and grades; willingness to work and study.
- Personal traits: judgment, sense of responsibility, ambition, interests.
The applicant should use the interview to satisfy himself that he will be accorded fair and just treatment throughout the period of his apprenticeship, as provided for by the program Standards and included in the Apprenticeship Agreement.
Qualifying Tests
Some Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committees require that the apprentice applicant pass a test before being considered for indenture. Any test used by a JATC must have been validated for relevance to the industry.
Applicants who have received average or better grades in high school algebra, geometry and physical sciences should experience no difficulty in passing the qualifying tests. Applicants who do not have such a high school background may need tutoring or special preparation. Since the Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee places considerable emphasis on the qualifying test grades, the applicant is well advised to prepare for the test by a thorough review of high school mathematics.
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