IEC Chesapeake has received a letter we feel is important to share with YOU.
IECC is a fully accredited, state certified, registered electrical apprenticeship program. As such, we are recognized by Maryland as a Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor.
The state’s recent outreach regards the requirements of Electrical registered apprenticeship programs as they relate to apprenticeship and Journeyperson licensure, and is below paraphrased to give you the most important points:
“…an individual who completes a qualifying Electrical registered apprenticeship Program, including (8,000 hours) of on-the-job training (“OJT”) and 576 hours of related instruction is eligible for an original journeyperson license or a journeyperson license without the State license exam. Md. Ann. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 6-307.1
A registered apprentice is required to be licensed as an apprentice with the Maryland Department of Labor Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing for the full term of their apprenticeship.
A registered apprentice is required to have obtained an apprentice license from the state Board of Electricians (“Board”) upon at the time they begin an apprenticeship program and/or at any point when performing electrical work.
There has been a significant increase in the number of Electrical registered apprenticeship graduates seeking to qualify for a license examination waiver pursuant to Md. Ann. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 6-307.1 who have failed to apply for or maintain a valid Electrician apprentice license as required by law.1
… an Electrical registered apprentice who has completed a qualifying electrical apprenticeship program will be able to qualify for a license examination waiver, pursuant to § 6-307.1, the Board requires proof that an individual held a current apprentice electrician license during their tenure in the apprenticeship program.
Effective June 1, 2022, all Electrical sponsors are required to include a copy of a current Electrical apprentice license in their files and to ensure that an apprentice license is properly updated throughout the entirety of an apprenticeship…
As a reminder, an apprentice license is required of each individual before they are authorized to lawfully assist in the provision of Electrical services. See Md. Ann. Code, Bus. Occ. & Prof. § 6-307.1. Accordingly, there is no period during an apprenticeship program in which a participant can lawfully participate in the field work requirement without possessing a current apprentice license issued by the Board.
We also wish to remind Electrical registered apprenticeship sponsors of the language in COMAR (Code of Maryland Regulations) 09.09.03.03, which requires that for an individual who has completed a qualifying apprenticeship program to be eligible for the journeyperson license examination waiver, in accordance with § 6-307.1, the individual must “have completed the apprenticeship program within 2 years of the date the journeyman license application is filed.” An applicant for a journeyperson license two (2) or more years after completing an approved Electrical apprenticeship program will be required to sit for and pass the State journeyperson license examination.”
See: https://www.labor.maryland.gov/license/elec/
Use a Registered Apprenticeship Program or “Go It Alone”????
· Part of the beauty of using an accredited Registered Apprenticeship Program like IEC Chesapeake is that we are fully geared to track our apprentices, necessary certifications, licensures, copies of documents, and OJT.
· IECC provides a portal to employers (both chapter member and non-member employers) for our tracking of students; the primary difference being that a non-member employer can see ONLY their student(s) and do not have access to “available apprentices” as do the member contractors.
· Documents and state requirements are available as needed.
If you are NOT in a registered apprenticeship program it becomes your responsibility to make sure that you are up to date or kept up to date with the requirements needed to meet state standards. This is important whether you are the student in this scenario or the employer.
Consider: verified OJT, documentation, Copies of apprentice licenses every two years for entirety of education, proper licensing in place to meet with state requirements of being on a jobsite and touching electrical components
You have now seen the official language from the state of Maryland.
Life is full of a lot of choices; if you are trying to choose between Scenario One, IECC Registered Electrical Apprenticeship Program and Scenario Two, “Go It Alone”, we suggest you start here:
