How Orientation Works — and How the Program Is Built
A real trade deserves real training. Here's exactly how yours will work, from your first day to your journeyman's card.
Orientation: your first step inside
WHEN YOU APPLY
Applicant orientation
New applicants attend a half-day orientation as part of joining — you'll get set up, meet the program, and learn how classes and dispatch work.
EACH FALL - FIRST-YEAR APPRENTICES
CLASS-SIGNUP orientation
Each fall, first-year apprentices come to the training center to pick their class weeks for the year.
Next date: September 9, 6:00 PM
Orientation is part of joining.
The raise schedule is in writing
4
years — a registered apprenticeship
600
hours of classroom training in Portland
4
one-week classes each year, Oct–May
Most of your training happens on the roof, working for a union contractor and earning union wages. Alongside it, you'll complete 600 hours of related training at our Portland training center — four one-week classes each year, running October through May. Your first year starts with four weeks of theory; after that, classes are mostly hands-on. You advance through wage periods as you go, from $28.21 an hour at entry to $47.01 at journeyman scale, and your coursework earns college credit.
At least four classes a year — on your schedule
Classes run in one-week blocks (7:30 AM to 4:00 PM, weekdays) between October and May, and you choose your weeks based on availability. Winter is the trade's quieter season, so class time and work time fit together instead of fighting each other.
The facility
Where you'll train
Classes meet at our training center at 5032 SE 26th Ave, Portland, OR 97202 — real mock-ups, real materials, and instructors who've spent their careers on the roof. It's the same facility where journeymen come back for advanced certifications, so you're learning where the whole trade learns.
CURRENT APPRENTICE?
Class schedules and registration live in the Student Portal.
Ready to start?
Applying comes first — orientation is part of joining. Come meet us and get your questions answered.