Frequently Asked Questions

Our 5 year curriculum takes an apprentice from entry level to the top of the craft as a journeyman. The training is very specific and intense and our national organization mandates that this type of all inclusive training requires a minimum of 5 years.

All applicants who have submitted a complete application are interviewed and these interviews are scored using a point system. The applicant is scored on his education, his previous work experience, his references, military status, as well as the oral interview itself. Having experience in the trades is a plus but is not required.

Applicants must be at least 18 years old but there is no age limit for applicants to be considered. However all applicants must be able to perform the required task and duties both at school and on the job. 

Apprentices who graduate from the program are known as Journey workers and are considered to be at the top of their craft. They are paid Journey worker wages and most receive certifications such as welding, medical gas, Backflow, CFC recovery, and Journeyman competency.

We accept “completed” applications all year long at our West Palm Beach location between the hours of 8AM and 4:30PM, Monday thru Friday. Completed applications may also be mailed to this location. Interviews and selections are typically held between April and August.

Our national organization has an AS and AAS two year degree and a 4 year master’s degree program. For detailed information on these programs please see the link on the home page of this site.

We currently are holding classes in the Ft. Myers area on the West Coast of Florida. However all applications for the program are processed at the West Palm Beach location. Applicants living on the West Coast of Florida who are accepted into the program will attend school at the West Coast location.

Apprentices are selected based on the trade they choose and the amount of work available in that trade. 

All apprentices receive the same training in the first year. While Pipe U would prefer the apprentice stays with his chosen field for the entire apprenticeship, changes in trade status have been done based on the availability of work in the trade and a case by case review by the apprenticeship committee.

The Pipe U Apprenticeship Standard only allows apprentices to take one apprenticeship. However once the apprentice graduates as a journeyman he or she may come back and take courses on any topic.

When an apprentice is selected to enter the program, he attends an orientation before starting work or class. 

A form is provided to each apprentice at that orientation allowing him to request to be tested for credit. 

All those apprentices who request credit are given both a written and practical examinations within two weeks. 

The results of those examinations along with the documented proof of work or school experience provided by the apprentice are taken before the apprenticeship committee for review. 

The committee then decides how much credit if any should be granted in 6 month increments. 

This credit can only be granted one time at the beginning of the apprenticeship. Those apprentices who receive credit have their wage rate moved up to the 6 month increment equal to their credit and the committee decides on a case by case basis which portions of the 5 year curriculum the apprentice can skip.