Introduction | Knowledge & Abilities | Special Skills / Minimum Qualifications | Apprentice Exam | Apprentice Training

Apprenticeship training in California originated with passage of the Shelly-Maloney Apprentice Labor Standards act of 1939.

Candidates for apprenticeship training must be at least 18 years of age and have an education equivalent to completion of high school. Candidates must qualify for appointment to apprenticeship jobs in California State Service by successfully completing a civil service examination.

Under provisions of the California Plan for Equal Opportunity in apprenticeship, employment is open to minorities, women, and handicapped persons.

Apprenticeship training is a formal organized system of on-the-job training in which the apprentice learns by "doing", and earns while learning. It is based upon a written agreement, called an indenture, between the employer and the apprentice. This agreement spells out how long the apprenticeship training lasts, what kinds of job tasks (called "work processes") are to be performed while working on-the-job, and what kinds of subject matter and work related knowledge must be learned through a program of home study and classroom instruction.

The duration of apprenticeship training varies from trade to trade. In the California Department of Water Resources, the periods of apprenticeship training are as follows:

Utility Craftsworker	3 years
Hydroelectric Plant Operator Apprentice	3 years
Hydroelectric Plant Electrician Apprentice	4 years
Hydroelectric Plant Mechanic Apprentice	4 years

The term of apprenticeship is divided up into six-month periods. At the end of each six-month period, on-the-job work and classroom/home study progress is evaluated by the apprentice’s supervisors and recommendation made to a Joint Apprenticeship Committee (JAC) which approves or disapproves advancement to the next six-months level of training and salary.

Generally speaking, after candidates have successfully passed the examination process and have been hired as Apprentices - either Operator, Electrician, Mechanic or Utility Craftsworker - they are assigned to work under close observation of a fully qualified and knowledgeable worker who has completed apprenticeship training and has been certified by the State of California as a "Journey-person".

During the first year of training, Apprentices will receive detailed instructions on-the-job, attend several weeks of classroom instructions in technical subject matter and completed approximately 100-150 hours of home study courses. In the second year, Apprentices will continue to receive classroom instruction, on-the-job instruction, and work under the supervision of a journey-level worker but will perform some tasks with minimum supervision. In succeeding years, Apprentices will perform more and more complex tasks, demonstrating the knowledge and abilities required on-the-job. When the term of Apprenticeship training has been successfully completed and all requirements have been met, the employer (Department of Water Resources), certifies the information to the Department of Industrial Relations, and the Apprentice is issued a Certificate and becomes eligible to be employed as a Journey-person.