The joint apprenticeship and training committee for the metallic lathers and reinforcing ironworkers, Local Union #46, will soon begin recruiting to fill 50 lather (wood, wire and metal) apprenticeships, the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) announced on Thursday, May 20.

 

The 50 apprenticeships cover the committee’s three recruitment regions of New York City, the Hudson Valley and Long Island, and the program’s jurisdiction includes the counties of Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester.

 

Applications must be submitted online at www.ml46.org, on weekdays, from June 22 to July 6, 2021, excluding July 5, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. The website will only be active during these hours, during the open recruitment days. Applicants who do not have access to the internet are encouraged to visit their local library. Norwood News recently reported on enhanced opening hours at local libraries in The Bronx. See here for details.

 

Applicants must pay a $25 testing fee by money order or cashier’s check at the time of testing. However, they may request that this fee be waived. Fee waivers will be approved if the applicant can show verifiable proof of financial need.

 

To be eligible for the apprenticeship, the committee requires that applicants:

• be at least 18 years old;
• have a high school diploma or a high school equivalency diploma (such as TASC or GED);
• attest in writing that they are physically able to perform the work of the trade, which may include:
  – wearing a safety belt weighing 25-50 pounds for a full day;
  – carrying steel rods weighing between 50 and 150 pounds for a full day;
  – climbing for erection, bridges, and wall-reinforcing jobs, etc;
  – walking, climbing, bending, reaching, lifting, and carrying for a full day;
• pass a drug screening, at the expense of the sponsor, after selection and prior to enrollment in apprenticeship;
• take an aptitude test administered by Wonderlic Testing;
• provide military transfer card or discharge form DD-214, if applicable, after selection and prior to enrollment in apprenticeship.

 

A DOL official clarified that the apprenticeships are open to everyone, and not only to those who served in the military. “The apprenticeships are open to those without military experience, and who meet the minimum requirements outlined. However, those who have bravely served our military are encouraged to include it as employment experience and provide the required documentation,” the official wrote.

 

For further information, applicants should contact Metallic Lathers and Reinforcing Ironworkers, Local Union #46 by calling (718) 267-7500. Additional job search assistance can be obtained at a local New York State Department of Labor Career Center at dol.ny.gov/career-centers.

 

Apprentice programs registered with the DOL must meet standards established by the DOL commissioner. Under state law, sponsors of programs cannot discriminate against applicants because of race, creed, color, national origin, age, sex, disability, or marital status. Women and minorities are encouraged to submit applications for apprenticeship programs. Sponsors of programs are required to adopt affirmative action plans for the recruitment of women and minorities.