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licensing questions

2K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  Voltron 
#1 ·
I am a top helper in NC. I have been working this job for just over a year now. I have also been attending an apprenticeship course at my local tech school. I enjoy my job and want to get as many certifications I can get. I have searched NC website but their info is very vague. If anybody could give mr any info on different levels of licensing and the requirements for them that would awesome. Thanks for your time guys.
 
#10 · (Edited)
i would get my journeyman card, the others are contractor licenses. You might not want to go that route and maintain them without maybe 10 years or so of experience.
NC is a very difficult test, Florida is too but, is a bit more complicated to qualify for licensing.
pay no attention to the Canadians here. Remember, they have hockey we have NASCAR.
 
#15 ·
The state of NC has multiple ways of determining you have enough OJT to get that limited license. I was in a very similar position in NC as you.

In NC before you can apply, you must have at least 8,000 hours of work under a licensed contractor while being classified as a mechanic or J-Man.

If you are in an apprenticeship, you must complete the apprenticeship which would be a minimum 7,200 hours (not all apprenticeship programs are the same), then work as a J-Man or mechanic for a minimum 4,000 hours.

If you are going to a community/tech college that is separate from your employer, I believe but may be wrong, that those hours would be counted at a 50% rate toward your hours. For example if you wanted to apply for the exam and license with 6000 hours (3years) and wanted to count your class time, you would need 4000 hours class time to account for the equivalent of 2000 hours on the job.


A lot of guys that came up in NC before you and I just had to have 2000 hours that a licensed guy could sign off on. Apprenticeships in NC didn't get real big and strict with contractors like Watson, Starr, or Bryant Durham till the Union showed up in force. So a lot of the rules were made more stringent by the state in cooperation with the big contractors to keep the union out. The union advertised having a better trained, more qualified work force because union guys had to spend a lot of time in the apprenticeship as compared to what the big guys required.
The big contractors didn't want the union in so the state made em step up their training programs. So I've been told.
 
#18 ·
The state of NC has multiple ways of determining you have enough OJT to get that limited license. I was in a very similar position in NC as you.

In NC before you can apply, you must have at least 8,000 hours of work under a licensed contractor while being classified as a mechanic or J-Man.

If you are in an apprenticeship, you must complete the apprenticeship which would be a minimum 7,200 hours (not all apprenticeship programs are the same), then work as a J-Man or mechanic for a minimum 4,000 hours.

If you are going to a community/tech college that is separate from your employer, I believe but may be wrong, that those hours would be counted at a 50% rate toward your hours. For example if you wanted to apply for the exam and license with 6000 hours (3years) and wanted to count your class time, you would need 4000 hours class time to account for the equivalent of 2000 hours on the job.

A lot of guys that came up in NC before you and I just had to have 2000 hours that a licensed guy could sign off on. Apprenticeships in NC didn't get real big and strict with contractors like Watson, Starr, or Bryant Durham till the Union showed up in force. So a lot of the rules were made more stringent by the state in cooperation with the big contractors to keep the union out. The union advertised having a better trained, more qualified work force because union guys had to spend a lot of time in the apprenticeship as compared to what the big guys required.
The big contractors didn't want the union in so the state made em step up their training programs. So I've been told.
That sounds more like the standard I am familiar with. Here in Mi., It's 8000 hrs otj and 576 classroom hours to be eligible to sit for journeyman exam, 12000 to sit for Masters. You can sit for contractors if you are either a master, or have a master employed full time who lives in the state.
 
#16 ·
To get my card, once I started as an apprentice I had to finish as an apprentice.
There is no statewide Journeymans card in our state.
The larger counties like Guilford, Mecklenberg, maybe Wake and New Hanover offer county Journeyman cards, but there is no standardized Journeymans card in NC.
if you got a apprenticeship like I had to go thru, NCCER, the US dept. Of Labor and NC dept. Of Labor will send you a certification of completion which states that you have completed an apprenticeship program and has the knowledge and capability to perform the work of a journeyman. It carries the same weight. My buddies that went thru class with me have all applied elsewhere and these employers love seeing that card! I'll post some pics later of the cards they give you
 
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