Apprenticeship Programs Put Plumbers To Work In L.A.
Regardless of occasional downturns in the economy, repairs and maintenance of water-flow systems in homes, apartment units and businesses must continue. This is why the government expects more than 82,000 plumbers nationwide will have already found new employment opportunities by 2022. This represents a 21 percent jump in the number of tradespersons that were installing pipes and fixtures in 2012. In many metropolitan areas, like Los Angeles, a demand for plumbers stems from construction of new buildings and tighter water efficiency standards for plumbing systems, such as low-flow toilets.
In L.A., plumbers earn an average annual salary of more than $46,000, with seasoned specialists bringing home yearly paychecks of around $63,000, according to current data. Most plumbers learn their craft through an apprenticeship program, which provides up to 9,000 hours of paid, on-the-job training. The program's classroom requisite includes a minimum of 1,080 hours of technical education, to enable working protégés to learn about safety, local plumbing codes and changing regulations. They also study mathematics, applied physics, chemistry and how to read a blueprint.
Some of the more productive apprenticeship programs that offer good wages in California are located within the greater L.A. region. They include AJ Training in Compton, United Association in Long Beach, and UA Plumbers 78 in downtown L.A. To become an apprentice plumber, applicants must be at least 18 years of age, hold a high school diploma or GED, able to write and speak the English language and legally empowered to work in the United States.
Because they often lift heavy materials and negotiate cramped spaces, plumber apprentices are required to have the physical capability to take on the perilous tasks of the trade. It is a profession that carries a high rate of mishaps and illnesses. Harmful cuts from sharp tools, burns from hot pipes, and falls from ladders are common injuries plumbers endure. Most of them work full-time, including nights and weekends. The more ambitious ones are always on-call to handle emergency situations.
In addition to knowing how to troubleshoot, successful plumbers possess admirable business, customer-service and mechanical skills. Their jobs are performed well.
Sharon Raiford Bush is an award-winning journalist who covers topics of social interest in greater Los Angeles. Some news articles she has authored have been archived by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Sharon also contributes to Examiner.com.