I had thought we were late coming in, but it looks as though we may actually be early-adopters.
You're darn tootin' we are! My card is expired since June - I took the test 3 1/2 years ago!!!!!!
The difference (or one of the main ones) in an "Apprentice" and "Electrician Trainee" (APP and ET for short) is that an apprentice will be dispatched by thier training organization to various employers. The idea is for them to "experiance various working environments" under various employers... And you, as an EC get to "Contribute" in $$$$ to the organization that trains them, who in turn "Contribute" that money (Less mark-up of course) to the DAS coffers....
An ET is YOUR employee who is attending classes, and is registered with the DAS in order to work "by law" if you can call it that.... As it is your employees education, he/she is can do it totaly on thier own accord. A former employer of mine was gracious enough to pay half for a former underling of mine last year, a dicission I think she was regretting, and allowed him to get off early a few days a week to spend two hours in traffic to go to Hayward 60 miles away for his classes. (Our shop was two blocks away from the the JATC that this guy lived not far from that has a 5 year *+ waiting list! That you can now attend through Foothill College as an ET.)
But really, it is the DAS that is too late in all this. They should have sorted out all this crap years ago, and stream lined the whole process. Something I believe they are purposely reluctant to do. I don't think they want to bring any more attention to themselves by having EVERY electrician on thier backs, they have enough problems trying to deal with the 1/2 population that they have now. I have been to thier offices here in SF, I have talked to a few on the phone, and even attended some of thier early meetings that they were so house proud about. I'll tell you that now, they are just frightened blind pilots of a machine they have little or no understanding of. Even though it is a machine they built, or should I say half built and trying to fly.
Call thier offices directly, and get a "Person" on the phone, they'll try to put you off to the web site for information - but push it... They don't even know what it says on that site of thiers half the time, and can clarify little else past what it says, or tell you where this death ride is headed - because they just don't know.....
http://www.dir.ca.gov/DAS/das_offices.htm [This message has been edited by e57 (edited 01-13-2007).]
