Your Career as a Union Pipefitter
UA Local 101, Belleville, Illinois
Union pipefitters specialize in a wide range of tasks including Commercial Construction, instrumentation and maintenance, Gas/Air/Water Piping, High Purity Piping, Hydronic Heating, Hydraulic Piping and Systems, Industrial Piping, Lab and Clean Room Work, Medical Gas Systems, Pipe Fabrication, Power Piping, Steam Piping, Vacuum Piping and Systems, Valve and Pump Installation and Repair, X-Ray Quality Welding.
Beginning a career as a pipefitter starts with an apprenticeship. Applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent. Selection and supervision of the apprenticeship program is done by members of a joint apprenticeship committee with experience representing management and labor.
After acceptance, you will complete 5 years apprenticeship training at our Local 101 training facility and on-the-job with a certified journeyperson as your mentor. The apprenticeship training consists of at least 10,000 hours of on-the-job training and a minimum of 1,250 hours of related training in the classroom. Classes are taught by certified journeypeople who have completed annual instructor training programs provided by the UA, our international union.
Upon completion of your apprenticeship, which is registered through the Bureau of Apprenticeship Training, U.S. Department of Labor, you reach journeyperson status. Local 101 offers continuing education classes in varied areas of specialization. New union pipefitters are evaluated for skill level and advance through their own initiative.
See more about our Apprenticeship program