Alan Smith
Apprenticeship
Not just a job, a profession.
Insulators Local 34 offers a four-year state-indented apprenticeship program, combining a rigorous curriculum with extensive on-the-job training under expert mechanical insulators.
Upon program completion, apprentices become proficient mechanical insulators, capable of handling demanding thermal and cooling mechanical insulation projects. Trained by top professionals, these mechanical insulators are equipped with advanced skills, problem-solving strategies, and knowledge to meeting challenging insulation demands. Graduates do not just have jobs- they have careers within a community committed to maintaining high standards in an essential, ever growing in-demand field.
Each apprentices dedicates 172 hours annually to a comprehensive curriculum taught by 1-2 instructors per year, with weekly assessments and annual exams. Coursework covers four critical areas:
- Installation process
- Material Layout
- Job Specifications
- Blueprint Reading
On-the-Job Training
Apprentices gain real-world experience in mechanical insulation, rotating through assignments with leading contractors to learn and refine skills across varied installations. Paid for their work, apprentices receive wage increases every 2,000 hours:
- First year: 63%
- Second year: 72%
- Third year: 81%
- Fourth year: 90%
Apprentices graduated the training program as fully qualified mechanical insulators, ready to work in diverse thermal and cooling environments.
Interested in Signing Up?
As with everything, there is a process:
- Application: Interested induvial must submit an application in our online JAC form. This is not a job announcement but adds you to our registrants list for future opportunities.
- Work Requirement: Pre-Apprentice candidates must complete 160 field hours as a pre-apprentice/ permit helper. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age, bring a driver's license, social security number, OSHA 10 or 30 certifications(if available) and fill out a pre-apprentice dues authorization form at the Union Hall. NOTE: Signing up as a permit helper does not guarantee employment or placement in the apprenticeship program.
- Interview: Eligible pre-apprentices will be invited to interview with the Joint Apprenticeship Committee (JAC).
- Skills Assessment: Candidates will complete a basic arithmetic skills assessment.
If you have any further questions about the process or what work as an Insulator entail, please contact Local 34 Apprenticeship Coordinator Jordon King via phone or email.
Phone: 651-312-1249
Email:
Members
Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 34 was organized in 1913. For 100 years our Union has endured through good times and bad in peacetime and at war through economic depression and prosperity, and through it all, we not only have survived, we have flourished.
We proudly recognize all those who have played an important roll in our growth, and look to our ranks to continue this great tradition of organized labor, to work together to better the lives of all of our members to ensure that future generations of members provide the dedication of excellence that has brought our Trade to its position of excellence in the Building & Construction Trades Council of Minnesota.
Contact Us
Tel: 651-312-1245
Fax: 651-312-1248
Insulators offices are open Monday thru Friday, from 8am - 4pm.
Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions.
We look forward to assisting you.
Directions
Insulators Local 34
95 Empire Dr.
St. Paul, MN 55103
Telephone: (732) 544-1800
Fax: (732) 389-3453
Resources
LOCAL 34 MEMBERS - LOOK HERE FOR:
- Upcoming course registration
- OSHA 10/30 training sites
- Tissue Bank Forms
- Center for Diagnostic Imagaing Locations (for low dose CT scan).
- Information for accessing pension plan.
- State and Government Office information.
- MN Workforce - "Getting Back to Work After a Trade-Related Layoff"
Health care questions? Contact Wilson McShane 952-851-5948
Have questions about your contractor's contributions to your pension plan? Contact Wilson McShane 952-851-5948
UPCOMING EVENTS:
RECENT EVENTS:
NEW Apprentices - Fall 2016
September 10 - Ribfest
1st Place: Team Neuschwander
2nd Place: Tom McNamara
3rd Place: Jimmy McNamara
IN THE NEWS:
Picketing Peterson Sheet Metal at Bayview and Southview Elementary Schools in Waconia, MN (June 23-24, 2016)
For story: http://www.workdayminnesota.org/articles/trades-picket-school-projects-waconia
Opinion piece by Carrie Polaszek, Local 34 mechanic member!
Counterpoint: Why you should care about the 'Capitol mess'
Minnesota aims to boost apprenticeships.
Featuring Carlos Morales. See above article from Finance and Commerce, Minneapolis publication.
About Insulators Local 34
Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 26 was organized in 19** and can trace its roots back to... For over ** years our Union has endured through good times and bad in peacetime and at war through economic depression and prosperity, and through it all, we not only have survived, we have flourished.
We proudly recognize all those who have played an important roll in our growth, and look to our ranks to continue this great tradition of organized labor, to work together to better the lives of all of our members to ensure that future generations of members provide the dedication of excellence that has brought our Trade to its position of excellence in the Building & Construction Trades Council of..