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The Apprenticeship Readiness Program

Apprenticeship Readiness Programs (ARPs)

Building Trades ARPs are designed to prepare young people and transitioning adults to enter and succeed in registered apprenticeship programs, which are gateways to good middle-class jobs in the US construction industry. Building Trades ARPs are sponsored by State and Local Building Trades Councils, Training Coordinators and Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees (JATCs) in partnership with community groups, construction owners, and contractors, government agencies and schools.

The goals of the Building Trades ARP’s are to increase the number of qualified candidates for apprenticeship across all crafts; to increase the diversity of apprenticeship candidates by recruiting women, communities of color, veterans and out of school youth; and to increase the retention rate among apprentices by providing them with a deeper understanding of both the industry and the role of craft unions in construction.

The educational foundation for the Building Trades ARPs is the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3),a standardized, comprehensive, 120-hour construction curriculum designed to help young people and transitioning adults choose and succeed in an apprenticeship program that is appropriate for them. In 2012, the US Department of Labor recognized the MC3 with its Registered Apprenticeship Innovator and Trailblazer Award.

The Multi-Craft Core Curriculum (MC3)

There are nine areas of focus in the MC3:

  • Construction Industry Orientation
  • Tools and Materials
  • Construction Health and Safety (including OSHA 10 and CPR)
  • Blueprint Reading
  • Basic Math for Construction
  • Heritage of the American Worker
  • Diversity in the Construction Industry
  • Green Construction
  • Financial Literacy

Interested in starting your Apprenticeship?