Northwest Carpenters Institute of Washington (NWCI)

Admission Period

Open enrollment, may apply at any time.

Application Process

Applicants must meet the following:

Employment

Applicants do not need to be currently employed in the industry, upon entering the apprenticeship, apprentices are responsible for finding their own employment

Occupation: Carpenter

The Work

Carpenters work with power and hand tools. They build forms for concrete and frame buildings, walls, footings, columns and stairs. Wood framing includes house building, roofs, stairs, decking and sheathing. Carpenters install doors, windows, storefronts and hand rails, and build cabinets, counter tops and finished stair handrails. They also work on drywall, wood flooring, metal jams and ceilings.

Carpenters do interior and exterior finish work, work with drywall and metal studs, install other interior systems, weld, and do many other related work processes. They also read blueprints, and must measure accurately and calculate dimensions. They may be involved in the original construction or remodel of almost every kind of structure, including houses and commercial buildings, bridges, churches, factories, and highways.

Working Conditions

The work is very physical and involves a good deal of standing, climbing, kneeling, lifting and squatting. Work is done both indoors and outdoors, depending upon the stage and nature of construction and area of emphasis. Location of the job site generally changes several times during the year. Apprentices may need to travel and relocate to take an available job. One day they may work inside where it is warm and dry and the next day outside where it is cold and wet. They must be in good health, meet certain strength requirements, be agile and have good hand-eye coordination. Work conditions vary with each job. Some are quite strenuous, while others such as cabinetry and finish work are less so.

Occupation: LADS

The Work

A drywall finisher measures, cuts, and fits drywall panels around mechanical structures. Once the required fittings are made, the drywall panels are attached to the wood or metal framework using glue, nails, or screws. Once the drywall has been securely installed, tapers fill the joints between panels with a joint compound. Using the wide, flat edge of a hand held trowel, tapers spread the compound into and along each side of all joints and angles with brush-like strokes. Immediately after spreading the compound, a paper tape is pressed into the wet compound to reinforce the joint and to smooth away excess compound material. The same compound is also used to cover nail and screw depressions in the panel caused during the installation. Finishing drywall and readying it for painting requires a keen eye for texturing and extreme patience to render the highest grade of finish.

Occupation: Millwright

The Work

Millwrights do precision machine installation and assembly using sophisticated measuring instructions. They install and align heavy industrial machinery such as conveyor systems, pumping systems, packaging systems, compressors, electric generators and turbines.

Working Conditions

Millwrights work in hydroelectric dams, paper mills, nuclear power generating stations, gas or coal-fired generation plants, smelters and refineries. They use highly precise optical measuring and leveling instruments. Apprentices need good math skills, practical problem-solving, manual dexterity, and the ability to work to very small tolerances (to one-thousandth of an inch). Apprentices have to lift heavy objects.

Occupation: Pile Driver

The Work

Pile drivers drive heavy beams, or pilings, into the earth as a support for a structure. Pile drivers work with power and hand tools. They work on docks, bridges and ferry landings, including wood, steel and concrete. They run chain saws and burning torches. They also build the form work on the pilings and drill holes to put pilings into the ground, and do form work on bridges. They do both new and old construction. Pile drivers also do foundation work for buildings, welding and many other related work processes.

Working Conditions

The work pile drivers do is very physical and involves climbing, kneeling, lifting and squatting. Work is done both indoors and out. Jobs are very strenuous as they have to work with heavy material. Job site locations may change often so workers will have to travel to take an available job. Apprentices must be in good health, meet certain strength requirements, be agile and have good hand-eye coordination.

Contact

(253) 437-5235
training@nwci.org
NWCI website