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NJATC and Thomas & Betts Partner on Electrical Training

June 20, 2011

Thomas & Betts, a major manufacturer of electrical parts and an employer of award-winning IBEW manufacturing workers,  has signed an agreement with the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee to develop a joint national apprenticeship training program.

Members of Chattanooga, Tenn., Local 175 who work at T&B’s plant in Athens were awarded a top-ten ranking by Industry Week magazine in 2006. (See “Tennessee Plant Named Among Best in North America,” IBEW Journal, May 2006.) Workers at the only union-organized plant remaining in Athens ratified a new three-year contract in June.

The agreement between NJATC and T&B includes mutual commitments to: develop programs, including apprentice scholarships and equipment donations and train entry-level electrical workers by developing a T&B-branded grounding and conductivity academy to familiarize IBEW members with the latest equipment and technology.  Says NJATC Executive Director Michael Callanan:

Since my days as an apprentice and journeyman wireman, more than 25 years ago, T&B has been a company that has stood for quality and excellence in every product that they have put their name on. I am so very pleased that this agreement formalizes a partnership that brings together two organizations committed to excellence in all they do and to the future of the electrical industry.

Thomas & Betts is a global leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of essential components used in electrical construction, distribution and transmission, from conduit and cable fittings to lattice towers and wind power structures.