This training program is a 4-year program approved by the Division of Apprenticeship Standards for the State of California and the Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship. The program requires that each apprentice receive a minimum of 6400 hours of on-the-job training in the electrical construction industry with the supervision of a journeyman sound electrician. During the course of the apprenticeship, each apprentice is transferred on a yearly basis to a new contractor. This allows the apprentice to receive a variety of in-depth experience of electrical skills while in the apprenticeship. The Electrical Training Institute makes all placements with contractors.
While in the training program, apprentices are required to attend 800 hours of classroom related instruction. Apprentices attend school two evenings a week, one night for lecture and one night for hands-on applications of their skills. Apprentices are required to pass competency assessments to successfully complete their classes.
Graduates of the Telecommunication apprenticeship program become Journeyman Sound Technicians. Sound Technicians are referred to as technicians, installers, and system designers. The types of systems they work on are:
- Entertainment (audio, video, multimedia, and home and corporate theater)
- Communications (telephone, fax, modem, Internet, local area networks, paging, intercoms, and public address systems)
- Life safety (access control, burglar and fire alarms, video surveillance, and nurse call)
- Control of indoor, outdoor, and specialty lighting
- Other forms of home and building security, control and automation
In general, the systems Sound Technicians design, install, and maintain are placed permanently. Sound Technicians make use of a home or building’s 120V AC power to activate control panels, audio and video sources, and signal amplifiers. A Sound Technician’s work focuses on the distribution of low-voltage signals among microprocessor-based devices and controls.
Major duties of a Sound Technician include:
- Installing, connecting, calibrating, and servicing products that move voice, video, audio, and data signals around premises
- Installing, connecting, calibrating, and servicing products that control signals
- Installing, connecting, calibrating, and servicing products that use signals to control mechanical and electrical apparatuses
All apprenticeship classes taken at our training centers are accredited through Palomar Community College. Thus upon completion of the program, the apprentice will receive a ‘Certificate of Achievement – Sound and Communication System Installer’.