Apprenticeships & Training

Why is Apprenticeship Important?

Apprenticeship is training in industrial occupations that require a wide and diverse range of skills and knowledge, as well as maturity and independence of judgment. It involves planned, day-by-day, on-the-job training and experience under supervision, combined with technical studies in subjects related to the trade.

One of the greatest assets that our Nation has is the skills and know-how of its people. It is imperative that we guard this asset carefully. Our future progress and strength depend upon a conscious concern for human resources, training and skills.

Browse the resources contained in this section to learn more about the opportunities that are available through apprenticeship and training programs.

Browse Apprenticeships

Asbestos Worker or Insulator

WHAT HE DOES: Insulation in some form is almost as old as time. Probably the first insulation material was the combination of mud and straw and dates back thousands of years. Insulation is to keep he...

Boilermaker

WHAT HE DOES: The Boilermaker is a construction mechanic who is skilled in the areas of welding, acetylene burning, fitting up, grinding, reaming and impact machine operating. He repairs and installs...

Bricklayer

WHAT HE DOES: Bricklaying is one of the oldest crafts dating back to biblical times. Bricklaying was known in ancient Babylonia over 6000 years ago. The work of the modern Bricklayer touches almos...

Carpenter

WHAT HE DOES: Carpentry is one of the oldest trades known. There were more Carpenters on the Mayflower than members of any other skilled craft. As the country began to develop westward, carpenters we...

Cement Mason

WHAT HE DOES: The principal work of the Cement Mason is finishing the exposed concrete surfaces on many types of construction projects. These projects range from small jobs such as finishing patios, ...

Construction Teamster

WHAT HE DOES: The Construction Teamster is a truck driver whose job can be quite diversified depending on the size of the contracting firm for whom he is employed. Teamsters skillfully operate a vari...

Electrician

WHAT HE DOES: Electricians lay out, assemble, install, test, maintain and repair electrical power equipment, fixtures and other electrical components used in the light and power systems of buildings ...

Glazier

WHAT HE DOES: Glaziers engaged in construction work cut and install all types and sizes of glass such as: plate glass of all kinds and thicknesses, clear and heat absorbing window glass, obscure glas...

Ironworker

WHAT HE DOES: Ironworkers are craftsmen who erect, assemble or install fabricated structural metal products, usually large metal beams, in the erection of industrial, commercial or large residential ...

Laborer

WHAT HE DOES: The Laborer is the jack-of-all-trades in construction, working as a hod carrier, carpenter helper, cement mason helper, material handler and cleanup man. His physical skills and common ...

Millwright

WHAT HE DOES: The Millwright is a man of precision working in the areas of moving, leveling, aligning and setting up large machinery. Also incorporated into the Millwright’s scope is rigging, erect...

Operating Engineer

WHAT THEY DO: Operating Engineers are the workers that operate and maintain various types of power-driven construction machines. Such machinery will include endloaders, graders, scrapers, bobcats, an...

Painter

WHAT HE DOES: The art of painting has been with us since the dawn of history. From the time man first learned that colored material dissolved in liquids could be used to decorate his dwellings, his p...

Piledriver

WHAT HE DOES: Piledrivers perform work that is incidental to and in connection with the drilling, jetting, setting, driving, jacking, pulling, welding, burning or cutting of all types of piling and c...

Plasterer

WHAT HE DOES: Plasterers are the building craftsmen who apply plaster to interior walls and ceilings to form fire resistant and relatively soundproof surfaces which may then be decorated. They also a...

Plumber – Pipefitter Air Conditioning & Refrigeration

WHAT HE DOES: Plumbers install pipes for water, gas, sewage and drainage systems. They also install sanitary facilities such as lavatories, toilets, tubs, bathroom fixtures, showers, kitchen fixtures...

Roofer

WHAT HE DOES: Roofers are the craftsmen who specialize in putting roofs on buildings and other structures to make them waterproof and weatherproof. They apply composition shingles, wood shingles, til...

Sheet Metal Worker

WHAT HE DOES: The Sheet Metal Worker is one of construction’s most skilled craftsmen. Only the Sheet Metal craftsman, today, develops from a raw material a finished product. He starts with a flat p...

The Upper Ohio Valley Building Trades Council (OVBTC) was chartered on January 17, 1939 in Wheeling, West Virginia. The OVBTC meets every Tuesday of the month, with the meeting location varying between Steubenville, Ohio at the Electricians’ Hall and in Wheeling, West Virginia at the Iron Workers’ Hall.