--- title: Apprenticeships teach students skills that sustain the community description: Sprinkler Fitters Local 669 Tim Coleman joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the importance of registered apprenticeship programs. image: https://awf.labortools.com/hubfs/UA%20Mic%20image%20red.jpg --- 1 min read Season 3, Episode 26 # Apprenticeships teach students skills that sustain the community [ awfblog ](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/author/awfblog) February 7, 2022 [United Association](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/united-association) [America's Work Force Union Podcast](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/americas-work-force-union-podcast) [Union Responsibilities](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/tag/union-responsibilities) ![AWF-Blogo-Logos-Template-400x400_sprinklerfitters669](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/AWF-Blogo-Logos-Template-400x400_sprinklerfitters669.png?width=400&height=400&name=AWF-Blogo-Logos-Template-400x400_sprinklerfitters669.png)   Guest Name: --- Tim Coleman Guest Website: --- [sprinklerfitters669.org](https://www.sprinklerfitters669.org/) Guest Social Media: --- [ Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100077026230165&eav=Afah5tkuZin4qykkTR3Wg82HABF_d6OuvEcmtoJbrRB21An47sZ0dQteIWrLm0DPgK8&ref=page_internal&paipv=0&_rdr) [ Twitter](https://twitter.com/669atwcc) [ YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?app=desktop&list=PLDD7B57A35BA2BD30) [ LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/local-union-669) Supportive Documents: --- Sprinkler Fitters Local 669 Recruitment and Outreach Specialist Tim Coleman joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the importance of registered apprenticeship programs. The interview debuted on Nov. 26, 2021 and is part of a special “best of” AWF segment. Coleman explained why President Biden signed the infrastructure bill during National Apprenticeship Week (Nov. 14-20), as the law will create incredible opportunities for apprentices in the building trades. He said Local 669 is different from other UA local unions, as it has nationwide jurisdiction that represents 15,000 members in 48 states. Its Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee trains students on how to install, test, maintain and repair fire suppression systems. Their five-year apprenticeship program includes 10,000 hours of on-the-job training and 1,200 hours of technical instruction. Over the past few years, Coleman has noticed a shift in the receptiveness of the trades when he visits high schools and vocational schools. Teachers and guidance counselors increasingly encourage apprenticeship as a viable alternative to traditional college. Apprentices earn while they learn and do not incur student debt. The UA’s registered apprenticeship program even offers free college credit, he added. Listen to the entire episode to learn more about apprenticeships and Local 669: --- America’s Work Force is the only daily labor podcast in the US and has been on the air since 1993, supplying listeners with useful, relevant input into their daily lives through fact-finding features, in-depth interviews, informative news segments and practical consumer reports. America’s Work Force is committed to providing an accessible venue in which America's workers and their families can hear discussion on important, relevant topics such as employment, healthcare, legislative action, labor-management relations, corporate practices, finances, local and national politics, consumer reports and labor issues. America’s Work Force Union Podcast is brought to you in part by our sponsors: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Government Employees, American Federation of Musicians Local 4, Alliance for American Manufacturing, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes-IBT, Boyd Watterson, Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Communication Workers of America, Mechanical Insulators Labor Management Cooperative Trust, International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 50, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Crafts, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 6, Ironworkers Great Lakes District Council, Melwood, The Labor Citizen newspaper, Laborers International Union of North America, The National Labor Office of Blue Cross and Blue Shield, North Coast Area Labor Federation, Ohio Federation of Teachers, United Labor Agency, United Steelworkers. - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ##### SUBSCRIBE ON: --- [![Group 342](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png?width=171&name=Apple%20Podcasts%20Button-Dark.png)](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/id1511224946) [![Group 341](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AmericasWorkForce/podcast%20logos/Spotify%20Button-Dark.png?width=100&name=Spotify%20Button-Dark.png)](https://open.spotify.com/show/0GzkHxFSBxiXvuX0lZpQBn) [![Group 343](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20343.png?width=135&name=Group%20343.png)](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast-62567752/) [![Group 339](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20339.png?width=110&name=Group%20339.png)](https://www.pandora.com/podcast/americas-work-force-union-podcast/PC:47979) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Group%20397.png?width=125&name=Group%20397.png)](https://americasworkforceradiopodcast.podbean.com/) [![Group 397](https://awf.labortools.com/hs-fs/hubfs/YouTube_button.png?width=125&name=YouTube_button.png)](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuQo1PAtRAel1_tS7-PQOkA)   #### [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat](https://awf.labortools.com/listen/brotherhood-of-railroad-signalmen-on-the-union-pacific-merger-threat) : July 6, 2026 # Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen on the Union Pacific Merger Threat Brandon Elvey, Secretary-Treasurer of the [Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen](https://www.brs.org/),... 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