Auto Industry Skilled Trades Apprenticeships

Outlook for Jobs with U.S. Auto Manufacturers

Getting into the Selection Process

Getting on an Eligibility List

• Apprenticeship is a formal method of training for a skilled trade that combines on-the-job-training (paid full-time employment) with related classroom instruction.  The skills learned provide the basis for a rewarding career.  Upon completion of of a four year training program, the apprentice graduates and receives a Journeyman Card from the UAW and employment from the company.



• An apprenticeship program is a “creature” of the company and the union.  Each Ford, DaimlerChrysler and GM facility has a Joint Committee or Apprenticeship Council composed of UAW and company representatives that administers union apprenticeship programs.



• The number of apprenticeship positions is negotiated and spelled out in union contracts.  For example, the UAW-GM 2003 Agreement specifies that a total of 2,250 new apprentices will be indentured during the term of the agreement.  The UAW-DaimlerChysler 2003 Agreement guarantees 425 apprenticeship positions. The UAW-Ford 2003 Agreement guarantees 1,500 apprenticeship positions



• The Web version of the Occupational Outlook Handbook published by the U.S. Department of Labor provides in-depth descriptions of a number of the apprenticeable trades found in the auto industry, including Electrician, Machine Repairer, Automotive Mechanic, Gas and Electric Jitney Mechanic, Machinist, Millwright, Pipefitter-Plumber, Sheet Metal Worker, Welder, and Tool and Die Maker.

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• The U.S. Department of Labor Career Guide to Industries:  Motor Vehicle and Equipment Manufacturing Industry Employment in the motor vehicle and parts manufacturing industry is expected to increase 3 percent over the 2002-12 period.

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• The key to getting a skilled trades apprenticeship is to get into the selection process, i.e., become an "applicant".  If you are a UAW member, possibly employed as an assembly worker or unionized non-production worker, this is a relatively straightforward process.  Test announcements are posted in the plants.7nbsp; UAW members then register with a designated UAW plant representative and submit resumes and transcripts.

• Both GM and DaimlerChrysler have mechanisms for occasionally allowing external candidates to test.  (The Ford Motor Company in the Detroit area does not; only Ford assembly workers are accepted as apprenticeship candidates.)



• External candidates have to wait for one of the (infrequent) tests open to non-UAW members.  Interested persons submit resumes and other pertinent information.  A set number of these submissions are reviewed, and a set number of persons judged most likely to succeed are invited to test.



• Information about open testing, when it occurs, is spread primarily by word of mouth so that, either by defaut or protocol, family and friends are the first to know and the first to apply.  In an attempt to bring about some balance, Michigan Works! agencies, workforce diversity groups, and community colleges now receive written notice of open testings.

• Community initiatives.  From time to time GM and DaimlerChrysler have participated in various community initiatives.  For example, GM has accepted candidates from church-sponsored apprenticeship prep programs.



• Get a unionized assembly or non-production position with one of the autos and become eligible for the perks of UAW membership.  A recent Solidarity Magazine article, UAW Paves the Way for Work in Skilled Trades, profiles a woman who took this route from a non-skilled position into a skilled trades apprenticeship.  As a UAW member she had priority and was given the opportunity to take the union-sponsored pre-apprenticeship STEPP prep programs to prepare for testing.



• Local plant managers and union representatives are in a good position to know how things are working at any one particular time and to be aware of any alternate routes for getting into the selection process.

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• Applicants are tested to determine their abilities and interests.  A point system is used to select candidates.  Internal and external eligibility lists are established and used to fill openings as they occur.  When an opening occurs, the person with the highest score who applied for the trade is given the first opportunity for placement according to negotiated ratios and ranking systems.



• Ranking systems are established by contract that specify the ratio of internal candidates to external candidates. 



• Getting on an eligibility list does not guarantee placement.  People have been known to remain on lists for long periods of time and still not be offered apprenticeships.  Competition is intense for these positions.  The auto industry asks for and gets the best and the brightest.

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