Plumbers & Steamfitters Mechanical Trade Apprenticeship Program

Today’s Mechanical Tradesman

Since instituting the Plumbers and Steamfitters Apprenticeship program in 1941, the Local Union 486 has given hundreds of hours of free instruction, on-the-job-training and job opportunities to participants. They are expert technicians, skilled journey workers, trained managers, and high wage earners.

Number of graduates

Minimum hours of on-the-job training

Total hours of classroom instruction

Number of participating contractors

Where they work:

High rises
Power plants
Water treatment plants
Health care facilities
Stadiums
Schools & colleges
Hotels
Casinos
HVACR facilities

What they’ll be doing:

Operating hydraulic and electric controls
Monitoring digital technology control systems
Installing backflow preventers
Installing natural & medical gas systems
Reading and interpreting building drawings and specifications
Calculating for systems
Commercial plumbing, heating, cooling & refrigeration
They are welders, riggers, steamfitters

What’s in a Union?

The Union provides job information, training programs and benefits
Provides a safe working environment
Union members and officers promote good labor relations
Union members and officers work with businesses to supply highly trained labor for any size or type of project
The Union inspires excellence and pride!
Union workers do the job right – on time and on budget!

Testimonials

See how the Plumbers & Steamfitters Apprenticeship Program has made a difference.

CCBC gives apprenticeship candidates the opportunity to build on their craft professions. The more training and education you have, the more options you will have in the workforce. The Apprenticeship Program is not just for young people of college age. It’s for anyone who wants to learn a new trade or who is looking for new opportunities. It’s not unusual to have apprenticeship graduates go on to earn an Associate’s Degree. This allows apprentices to take advantage of additional career opportunities , taking on responsibilities of supervision, management, or owning their own businesses.

Greg Case, Professor, CAD Coordinator
Community College of Baltimore County

If you are looking for a career that will support yourself and your family with good money and good benefits, you’ll find pipefitting is a career that has many paths. As you move through the Plumbers and Steamfitters Apprenticeship Program, you can find some very rewarding jobs.

The program gave me the skills to work in the field for 10 years before starting my own business that employs union steamfitters.

Fred Matusky, Flo-Tron Contracting, Inc.

The Community College of Baltimore County’s long partnership with Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 486 supports a strong opportunity to earn money, obtain college credit and a solid credential for a job.

Sandra L. Kurtinitis, Ph.D., President, CCBC