The Trade School at 

Shasta Builders Exchange

Careers are built at the Trade School one quarter at a time. Running on a fall/spring quarter schedule, each quarter is 9 weeks long. The courses rely on a hybrid model where students use the online program one week and are on campus in class the alternating week. This alternating online / in-class schedule allows for less commuting time and more learning time.

Classes are usually taught at night from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. once a week. These five-hour blocks of time coupled with the four-hour blocks of time spent online give students 40 hours of training per quarter. The state and federal government guidelines are 160 hours per year of related training for apprenticeship and trainee programs.

While on campus, students benefit from a directed lesson, discussion and answer sessions, and lab time in the shop. The online learning component allows students to study at their own pace and gives them flexibility with their home and work schedules.

Our Carpentry curriculum is for rough carpentry. Rough carpentry focuses on framing. This program is the shortest of the three and can be completed in two and a half years or 10 quarters.

Electrical and Plumbing are both 4 and a half years to complete. That’s 18 semesters in all. This is a standard program length for these two trades. With the completion of these courses (and their on-the-job hours) students will be considered journeymen.

It’s important to note that in the trades hours on the job have a substantial impact on journeyman status. For electricians, the state DIR requires  8,000 on-the-job hours for trainees to sit for the general electrician’s test and 4,800 on-the-job hours for the residential test.

Our Core Class constitutes the introduction to construction items that every construction worker needs to know to be safe and prepared on a job site. From laborer to electrician, Core is the prerequisite to all trades.

To enroll in the Trade School a candidate must:

· Pass a drug screening test

· Attend an Orientation Meeting

· Submit a completed registration packet including a signed contract

· Provide Proof of age

· Provide High School Diploma, GED, or equivalent

· Provide a Monetary deposit

Website: https://thetradeschool.org/