Training Program: BAC Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Training Center Local 1
Apply now for a Pre-Apprenticeship Training program with the BAC Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Training Center Local 1.
Leave every job site with the satisfaction that your work makes a difference in the state of Minnesota.
Ask yourself … Do you like working with your hands? Are you physically fit? Do you have an eye for line, color, and proportion? Do you like working outside? Do you hate the idea of sitting in a cubicle?
If the answer to these questions is yes, then a career in the bricklayers trowel trades could be right for you. Come see what you can build with your hands! Enjoy the feeling of leaving your mark on something that you made with your hands.
Bricklayers lay bricks, concrete blocks, stone and other similar materials. This is done to create new structures and restore existing structures, some examples are schools, stores, warehouses and government buildings.
Masonry work creates the most significant and lasting structures, think pyramids, Roman Colosseum, and the Duomo in Italy. Most historic masonry buildings were made using arches, carved stone, and mosaic tile. The Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis was built by masons from Local 1.
“One day you could be installing face brick on a school or courthouse and the next you could be working on a foundation or restoring an old brick building,” said Metro Coordinator John Slama for Local 1. “This career takes a steady hand and someone who appreciates fine, detailed work. Yet enjoys the rewards and satisfaction that comes from hard physical labor.”
As a bricklayer, your daily duties on a job site will typically include:
• Laying CMU block, bricks, stone or similar materials to build residential/commercial structures
• Building, planning and creating walls for many types of structures
• Building veneers out of brick, stone and manmade materials to add to the beauty of building
• Cutting and trimming bricks using hand and power tools
• Restoring, cleaning or painting existing brick structures
• Reading and interpreting sketches and blueprints
• Using robotics to assist in the laying of larger material
As a tile layer, your daily duties on a jobsite will typically include:
• Carrying boxes of tile and bags of mortar
• Cutting and trimming tile using hand and power tools
• Understanding the importance of substrates and grout applications
• Marking out intricate designs and patterns
• How to correctly install various types of tile from man made to natural products, and the importance to the details between them
“In this career, it’s a given that you will work outdoors, often on scaffolding, so you should be comfortable with heights,” Slama said. “This work is physically demanding, and you may be required to travel to various locations. All trowel trades are a team, just like you cannot play basketball by starting only 4 players. You are counted on to do your part and support your teammates of other construction professionals.”
Safety is the top priority for bricklayers, so they are trained to work safely and wear special equipment to protect against injury.
“As with all careers in the construction industry, safety is at the core of what we do,” said Sarah Lechowich, senior director with the Construction Careers Foundation (ConstructionCareers.org). “Being safe goes beyond yourself — you have to be aware of your surroundings and clean up after yourself to keep your teammates and the public safe in or near a construction site.”
Pre-Apprenticeship Program MN/ND BAC Local 1 Training Center
If you do not have experience in bricklaying or tile work, Local 1 offers a six-week training program in the spring to get you started. The program has a starting date of June 7th, Monday – Friday from 7 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. through July 16th. A successful candidate must attend all sessions to be considered for employment through one of our signatory contractors.
The pre-apprenticeship is a competency-based, self-paced training program. Each of the six training units are approximately one week and combine hands-on mock-ups and related classroom instruction. Because we are part of an APEX grant through the MN DOLI there is no out of pocket cost for the program. However, because we have a limited amount of availability you will need to be accepted from the pool of candidates.
“The work in the classroom supports our hands-on training,” Slama said. “We go over general worksite and trade skills, trade math, safety training, basic layouts, job professionalism, trade history and labor-management relations.”
Those enrolled in the pre-apprenticeship program are required to pass the Performance Assessment Reports as well as maintain an average of 75% on all written exams to pass this course and qualify for a recommendation to our signatory contractors to begin the apprenticeship process.
Students who successfully complete the pre-job training may be granted up to 1,000 hours of work experience to apply toward the 6,000-hour total on-the-job work requirement in the five-year apprenticeship program through Local 1.
Click here to fill out the application: https://forms.gle/V9wu8hHokQiWsyw77
QUALIFICATIONS
• Must not be less than 17 years of age.
• Must possess sufficient physical fitness in order to perform the duties of the trade.
• Must have a high school diploma or a G.E.D. certificate.
• Must have reliable transportation. Not only to get to the training but to the various job sites located throughout the state.
Prior to placement with a contractor, each selected candidate will be required to successfully complete a drug screen, attend orientation and safety training.
Want to learn more about this training and apprenticeship opportunity?
Contact John Slama, Metro Coordinator, Minnesota/North Dakota Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local 1 Journeyman & Apprentice Training Center.
Email: jslama@bactraining.org
Cell: 651-272-9910
Office: 763-404-8345