Veterans in Piping (VIP) Pre-Apprenticeship Program
The Department of Workforce Development in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs and the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters coordinates the Veterans in Piping (VIP) Program. The VIP program is designed for Veterans, to include currently serving Guard and Reserve soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen, who are able to attend a 20 week training program for welding and rigging.
Upon successful completion of the 20 week training program and associated requirements, the student will be guaranteed a job somewhere in the United States. All efforts will be made by the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) to place the graduate in a location he/she is interested in working and is qualified. However there is no job location preference guarantee.
Upon completion of the training program and acceptance into an apprenticeship position, the veteran has access to a training program with a progressive wage scale and a career in the pipefitting trades. Journeyworker pipefitter’s salary and benefits are approximately $50 an hour.
· Location: Camp Williams, on Volk Field (National Guard Air and Army Base)
· Training: 5 days a week (20 weeks)
· Three per year are projected to be conducted.
· Cost:
· UA Training is free. UA is providing two 53' training welding vans, rigging complex and instructors to facilitate the training.
· Lodging: $11.00 per night (or approximately $1540 for twenty weeks) at the Wisconsin Military Academy at Ft. McCoy.
· Food. Approximately $7.00 per meal, or $2940 for twenty weeks.
· Transportation Worker Identity Card (TWIC): $132.50
· Other expenses: work clothes, steel toed boots, gas to travel from Ft. McCoy to Camp Williams.
· Background checks will be conducted in order to acquire the Transportation Worker Identity card.
· Applicants must pass a urinalysis drug test.
· Division of Employment and Training (DET) staff will assist in coordinating with Unemployment Insurance, Workforce Development Agencies, VA Vocational Rehabilitation; however, funding for these supportive services cannot be guaranteed.
· Applicants must possess: 1) a DD214 reflecting an Honorable Discharge; 2) a valid driver’s license and driving extract from the Division of Motor Vehicles, an eye exam within the last six months.
· Only those veterans who desire this career field and can financially afford to attend the course should apply. Those veterans with personal issues, family challenges that would prohibit them from attending all classes or are unwilling to relocate should not apply.
· Applicants will submit an application with required documentation before interviewing for the program. Applicants must be selected by an interview panel to be admitted into the program.
· Interested veterans can contact DWD staff for further information and assistance in completing the application material. The application material is also posted on the BAS website. DWD will refer qualified candidates to the UA; who will make the final decision on students that are accepted into each class.
· VIP program promotion fliers and application materials are available at Job Centers and DWD’s Office of Veterans Services & Bureau of Apprenticeship Standards.