Training Tomorrow’s Tradesmen: An ApprenticeshipNC Spotlight on Mechanical Trades Carolina

UA Local 421 was chartered by The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada in 1997 through the consolidation of five Locals in North and South Carolina. Prior to this merger, UA Locals were registered with the Department of Commerce dating as far back to 1967. Since then, Local 421 has grown to over 1600 members strong and expanded to five training centers throughout North and South Carolina. How has it achieved this success? Through the power of Registered Apprenticeship.

Mechanical Trades Carolina , a nonprofit 501(c)(3) offshoot of UA Local 421, currently has over 360 active Registered Apprentices and pre-apprentices across North Carolina and South Carolina who are training to become HV/AC-R Service Technicians, Pipefitters, Plumbers, and Welders. Each Registered Apprenticeship quips the apprentices with the skills, knowledge, and experience required to become masters of their trade.

HV/AC-R Service Technician Apprentices learn to install, maintain and repair plumbing, heating, ventilating, air conditioning and refrigeration systems. Pipefitter Apprentices fabricate, install and maintain complex piping while Plumber Apprentices learn to install drinking water, waste and ventilating systems, and wastewater treatment systems.

Through their Registered Apprenticeships, the apprentices receive paid on-the-job learning and supplemental education provided in-house by Mechanical Trades Carolina. They also receive a pension plan, 501k, healthcare (including dental and vision), free online college credited courses for themselves and immediate family members, and additional training opportunities.

Evelio Martinez , Training Director, Mechanical Trades Carolina, sees Registered Apprenticeship as a path for growth, saying, “We want to continue to grow the apprenticeship. We continue to grow our contractor base, so we need the manpower to supply them. Our goal has always been to train the best in the industry and to do that we have to train skilled workers. Apprenticeship has always been the best way to grow our workforce.”

Mechanical Trades Carolina proved it produces the cream of the crops when one their HV/AC-R Technician Apprentices, Luis Diaz, won first place at the 2023 N.C. State Fair HV/AC-R Apprentice Contest. Mr. Diaz was later recognized for his achievement at a reception held by North Carolina Lt. Governor Mark Robinson and ApprenticeshipNC, the State Apprenticeship Agency housed under the North Carolina Community College System.

North Carolina Attorney General Joshua Stein made a point to highlight Mechanical Trades Carolina’s Registered Apprenticeship achievements during a visit to one of their training facilities on September 5, 2024. He and Mechanical Trades Carolina leadership discussed the programs’ structure and the importance of Mechanical Trades Carolina’s high wages and employee benefits in making the Registered Apprenticeships flourish. Stein emphasized the value of Mechanical Trades Carolina’s programs, and those like them, saying, “Growing apprenticeship programs like we are seeing here with plumbers and pipefitters and having more career and technical education in our schools is very important…Folks may want to go to college but not everybody does, and someone shouldn’t have to go to college to get a good job.”

On top of their thriving Registered Apprenticeships, Mechanical Trades Carolina also offers an 18-week Welding pre-apprenticeship that trains pre-apprentices to cut, assemble, and repair various materials. Given the growing shortage of skilled and certified welders in both North Carolina and across the United States, this program is a boon for individuals looking to acquire knowledge of this critical trade.

On the welding pre-apprenticeship, Martinez added that, “In this industry, welding is an in-demand skill. We want our members to have that skill, so we make it a strong point for all our apprentices to train in welding. Not everyone has the mechanical skills to become welders, though. Great welders have good hand-eye coordination, focus, and determination. It’s not an easy job. We have the pre-apprenticeship for those we see are special and have what it takes to succeed.”

Both the Registered Apprenticeships and welding pre-apprenticeship are open to all residents of North and South Carolina who meet the minimum program requirements. All applicants must apply online at www.ualocal421.org. Mechanical Trades Carolina holds interviews for their five-year programs once a year and they have three yearly 18-week classes for their welding pre-apprenticeship. Learn more here.

About UA Local 421: Local 421 was chartered October 1, 1997, by The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada through the consolidation of 5 different Locals in North and South Carolina. Local 421 is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina and has satellite offices in Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina with training centers in each of our 4 locations. We continue to grow with a membership of approximately 1600 that includes approximately 100 Lead Burners represented throughout the United States.

Working to promote legislation that benefits all working men and women in North and South Carolina, we are dedicated to doing the best job possible. Through that, Local 421 has adopted the United Association “Standard for Excellence” platform; to meet the responsibilities to our employer and our fellow workers by, arriving on the job on time every day ready to work, adhering to start and stop times, providing highly skilled craftspeople, using and promoting Local Union and International Training and certification programs, zero tolerance substance abuse policy and by following safe, reasonable and legitimate management directives.

About Mechanical Trades Carolina: Mechanical Trades Carolina is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) specializing in training plumbers, pipefitters, pipe welders, and HVAC technicians. They teach a wide variety of certification classes, these training classes are backed with industry recognized 3rd party certification testing in structural & pipe welding, rigging/crane signaling, medical gas installations & brazing, backflow prevention and foreman training. Free training is offered to all members of UA Local 421 through their apprenticeship and continuing education programs.

About ApprenticeshipNC: Recognized by the Office of Apprenticeship to act on behalf of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), ApprenticeshipNC (ANC) is the State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA) operating under the North Carolina Community College System (NCCCS). ApprenticeshipNC registers apprenticeship programs tailored to meet employers’ needs— providing structured on-the-job learning, supplemental education, and a progressive wage scale.