About Local 18
Untitled
OHIO OPERATING ENGINEERS
APPRENTICESHIP AND TRAINING PROGRAM
APPRENTICE APPLICATION INFORMATION
FACT SHEET
WHO IS AN OPERATING ENGINEER?
Operating Engineers build roads, bridges, and dams, and assist in construction of large buildings and other structures.
The work of an Operating Engineer is divided into two general classifications:
OPERATING EQUIPMENT used in construction such as dozers, graders, backhoes, pavers, and cranes, and REPAIRING THE EARTH-MOVING EQUIPMENT used in the building of roads, bridges, dams, and large buildings.
ADVANTAGES TO BECOMING AN OPERATING ENGINEER
Working as an Operating Engineer is an excellent career for men and women who want to acquire diverse skills, work outdoors, and be creative; operating engineers can do all this while earning a decent wage.
REQUIREMENTS FOR BECOMING AN OPERATING ENGINEER
To become an Operating Engineer, a person must complete four (4) years of apprenticeship training which includes a minimum of 640 hours of classroom and related instruction, a minimum of 4,000 hours of employment and successfull completion of the written and machine performance tests.
FACTS ABOUT THE OPERATING ENGINEERS' TRAINING PROGRAM
The Ohio Operating Engineers Training Program is an INDUSTRY-SPONSORED AND FUNDED registered Apprenticeship Training Program. The sponsors are the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 18, the Ohio Contractors Association, and the Ohio Building Chapter of the Associated General Contractors. The Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training, United States Department of Labor provides assistance and regulation.
Apprentices attend 160 hours of related instruction per year on their own time, for which they are not paid. Classes are given in the following manner: weekly blocks of forty (40) hours in the fall, winter, and spring. The related instruction includes classroom instruction along with equipment operation, maintenance, and repair.
Apprentices are required to work a minimum of 4,000 hours during the four-year period. This employment is considered an on-the-job training program where the apprentices are employed by union contractors on construction projects and are paid wages and benefits.
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EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES AND RATES OF PAY FOR APPRENTICES
Apprentices are employed through the union hiring hall and are dispatched to work in accordance with the union-referral system. The Journeyperson Class A pay rate as of May 1, 2008 is $28.54 to $30.03 hourly. The apprentice pay scale is based on the Class A rate for the area in which an apprentice works and is as follows:
- 1st-year apprentices receive 50% of Class A rate
- 2nd-year apprentices receive 60% of Class A rate
- 3rd-year apprentices receive 70% of Class A rate
- 4th-year apprentices receive 80% of Class A rate
There will be a 10% increase for the apprentices in addition to the percentages listed above, provided the apprentices are operating mobile equipment.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS REQUIRED OF APPLICANTS
- Applicants must be eighteen (18) years old by May 1 in the year they apply.
- Applicants must be able to read and do arithmetic well enough to progress in
the classroom training and understand oral/written instruction.
- Applicants must be eligible to work in the United States.
- Applicants must be interested in working outdoors in any type of weather
conditions and be able to travel to distant work sites if required.
- Applicants selected must have dependable transportation to get to both urban and rural construction job sites and have a working telephone where they can be contacted.
- Applicants must show proof of a valid drivers license before the beginning of the pre-apprentice orientation.
- Applicants selected for enrollment must be capable of passing the US Department of Transportation Act, Commercial Drivers License (C.D.L.) test; this license is required (effective 1990) for many jobs involving Operating Engineers. The written portion of this license requirement must be passed during or before the pre-apprentice orientation.
- Applicants will be drug-tested during the application process at some point prior to indenture and must show a negative drug screen. Additionally, all indentured applicants shall be subject to random drug testing as outlined in the Apprenticeship Standards and the negotiated Union Contracts.
- To receive credit (points) for educational achievements, applicants must have all high school transcripts, diplomas, or GED certificates in the hands of the Training Program staff by 2/23/2009.
- Those persons claiming American Indian status must meet O.D.O.T. requirements for verification. Birth certificates, tribal certifications, or tribal registrations are acceptable means of verification, as well as any State or Federal certification or enrollment.
APPLICANT SELECTION PROCESS
The Ohio Operating Engineers Apprenticeship & Training Program will take affirmative action to provide equal opportunity in apprenticeship, and will operate its Apprenticeship Program as required under Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 30, and Equal Employment Opportunity Regulations of the State of Ohio.
The number of actual apprentice openings will vary for each district. During the spring of 2009, 80 to 140 new Ohio Operating Engineer Apprentices will be indentured.
Owens Community College located at Tracy Road, P.O. Box 10000, Toledo, Ohio 43699-1947 will assist the Ohio Operating Engineers Apprenticeship and Training Fund in conducting outreach, administering and scoring tests, and ranking applicants' test scores.
Following are the qualifying points available for award during the first testing in the application process:
- 50 High School Credit or GED
- 30 PSI Visual Pursuit
- 50 Ramsay Speed of Marking
- 40 Reading Comprehension Test
- 40 Arithmetic Test
- 68 Bennett Mechanical Comprehension Test
- 64 Minnesota Paper Form Board Test
NOTE: Applicants who have applied in the previous year and
completed all required application processes for entry into the Apprenticeship Program but were not indentured, will be awarded ten (10) bonus points for each consecutive year they have applied, not to exceed thirty (30) points.
The people who will be interviewed will be selected from those applicants who have, during the first tests in the application process, accumulated the most qualifying points above 70% of the possible score. This program will interview three candidates for each apprentice opening.
Following are the qualifying points available for award during the second test in the application process:
PRE-APPRENTICE ORIENTATION
People who accumulated the most qualifying points during the first two application processes from within the three selection categories will be eligible for the 120-hour Pre-Apprentice Program; selections will be made from this pool of applicants.
The Pre-Apprentice Orientation Program will introduce prospective apprentices to the Ohio Operating Engineers work functions,
What it takes to be an Operating Engineer. The Program will provide classroom instruction, in-the-seat training of heavy equipment operation, safe work practices, along with proper maintenance and repair of equipment. The participants will be evaluated on their attendance, attitude toward the subject matter, productivity, initiative, workmanship, and punctuality. They must also maintain at least a 70% grade level during the 120-hour course in order to be indentured. The participants may be compensated $7.50 per hour for every hour they attend. The pre-apprentice orientation will be given prior to indenture and will offer the participants a more realistic insight into what it takes to be an Operating Engineer.
Those who successfully complete the Pre-Apprentice Program will be indentured.
APPLICATION MATERIALS NEEDED
- Ten dollar ($10.00) cash, non-refundable application fee.
- Please provide a photo ID.
- A copy of your high school diploma/GED or transcripts.
- A copy of your discharge papers (DD214) if you are a veteran.
APPLICATION LOCATIONS
Applications must be completed at one of the union halls or training centers listed below. A ten-dollar ($10.00) cash, non-refundable application fee is required at the time of application. The dates and times applications will be taken are as follows:
| Applications accepted on these days only |
| January 26,27,28 2009 from 9:00am to 3:00 pm. |
| February 5,6,7 2009 from 9:00am to 3:00 pm. |
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