OFFERED TRADES 
Associated Builders and Contractors, New Mexico Chapter, offers Apprenticeship training programs in four trades.
CARPENTER
Job Description
  • Consistent with applicable building codes, specifications and safety standards, constructs, erects, installs and repairs structures and fixtures made of wood, plywood, and wallboard using hand and power tools. Verifies trueness of structure with plumb bob and carpenter's level.
  • Studies blueprints, sketches, and building plans for information pertaining to required materials and dimensions of structure or fixture to be fabricated. Selects specified type of lumber or other materials.
  • Prepares layouts, using rule, framing square, chalk, and making gauge.
  • Shapes materials to prescribed measurements, using saws, chisels, and planes. Assembles cut and shaped materials, fastening them with nails, dowel pins or glue.
  • Lays hardwood, parquet, and wood-strip-block floors by nailing floors to sub-floor or cementing them to mastic or asphalt base. Applies shock-absorbing, sound-deadening, and decorative paneling to ceilings and walls.
  • Fits and installs prefabricated window frames, doors, doorframes, weather stripping, interior and exterior trim, and finish hardware, such as locks, letter drops, and kick-plates.
  • Constructs form and chutes for pouring concrete. Erects scaffolding and ladders for assembling structures above ground level. May weld metal parts to steel structural members.
  • Specialties include lay-out carpenters, finish carpenters, house carpenters, combination-window installers, building-insulating carpenters, carpenter (refrigerator), door hanger, finish-hardware erector, garage-door hanger, hardwood-floor installer, jalousie installer, stair builder, trim setter, weather stripper, wood-sash-and-frame carpenter and wood-strip-block floor installer.

ELECTRICIAN (Construction)
Job Description

  • Consistent with applicable codes, specifications and safety standards, plans, lays out, installs and repairs wiring, electrical fixtures, apparatus, and control equipment.
  • Plans new or modified installations, minimizing waste of materials, providing access for future maintenance, and avoiding unsightly, hazardous, and unreliable wiring.
  • Prepares sketches showing location of wiring and equipment or follows diagrams or blueprints to ensure that concealed wiring is installed before completion of walls, ceilings, or flooring.
  • Measures, cuts, bends, threads, assembles, and installs electrical conduit using tools such as hacksaw, pipe threader, and conduit bender.
  • Pulls wiring through conduit, splices wires by stripping insulation from terminal leads (using knife or pliers), twisting wires together, and applying tape or terminal caps.
  • Connects wiring to lighting fixtures and power equipment, using hand tools.
  • Installs distribution controls (e.g., switches, relays, circuit-breaker panels), fastening in place with screws or bolts using hand and power tools. Connects power leads.
  • Tests continuity of circuit to ensure electrical compatibility and safety of components using testing instruments (e.g., ohmmeter, battery and buzzer, and oscilloscope). Observes functioning of installed equipment or system to detect hazards and need for adjustments, relocation, or replacement. May repair faulty equipment or systems.

PLUMBER/PIPEFITTER
Job Description
  • Consistent with applicable codes, specifications and safety standards, assembles, installs, and repairs pipes and valve fittings composed of metals (e.g., iron, steel, brass, lead) and nonmetals (e.g, glass, vitrified clay, plastic) using hand and power tools for heating, water, and drainage systems.
  • Installs and repairs plumbing fixtures (e.g., sinks, commodes, bathtubs, water heaters, hot water tanks, garbage disposal units, dishwashers, water softeners). Studies building plans and working drawings to determine work aids required and sequence of installation.
  • Inspects structures to ascertain obstructions to be avoided to prevent weakening of structure resulting from installation of pipe.
  • Locates and marks position for pipe and pipe connections and passage holes for pipes in walls and floors, using ruler, spirit level, and plumb bob. Cuts openings in walls and floors to accommodate pipe and pipe fittings, using hand and power tools.
  • Cuts and threads pipe, using pipe cutters, cutting torch, and pipe-threading machine. Bends pipe to required angle by hand or using pipe-bending machine.
  • Joins pipes by use of screws, bolts, fittings, solder, plastic solvent; caulks joints. May weld holding fixtures to steel structural members.
  • Fills pipe system with water or air; reads pressure gauges to determine whether systems are leaking.
  • Repairs and maintains plumbing systems by replacing washers in leaky faucets, mending burst pipes and opening clogged drains. When specializing in maintenance and repair of heating, water and drainage systems in industrial or commercial establishments, is designated Plumber, Maintenance (any industry).

SHEET METAL WORKER
Job Description
  • Consistent with applicable codes, specifications and safety standards, plans, lays out, fabricates, assembles, installs, and repairs sheet metal parts, equipment, and products, using knowledge of the working characteristics of metallic and nonmetallic materials, machining, and layout techniques. Uses hand and power tools, machines, and equipment.
  • Reads and interprets blueprints, sketches, or product specifications to determine sequence and methods of fabricating, assembling, and installing sheet metal products.
  • Selects gauge and type of sheet metal (e.g., galvanized iron, copper, steel, aluminum) or nonmetallic materials (e.g., plastics, fiberglass) according to product specification.
  • Lays out and marks dimensions and reference lines on material, using scribers, dividers, squares, and rulers, applying knowledge of shop mathematics and layout techniques to develop and trace patterns of product or parts or using templates.
  • Sets up and operates fabricating machines (e.g., shears, brakes, presses, forming rolls, routers) to cut, bend, block and form, or straighten materials.
  • Shapes metal materials over anvils, blocks, or other forms using hand tools. Trims, files, grinds, deburrs, buffs, and smooths surfaces, using hand and portable power tools. Welds, solders, bolts, rivets, screws, clips, caulks, or bonds component parts to assemble products, using hand and power tools, and other equipment.
  • Installs assemblies in supportive framework according to blueprints, using hand and power tools, and lifting and handling devices.
  • Inspects assemblies and installation for conformance to specifications, using measuring instruments (e.g., calipers, scales, dial indicators, gauges, and micrometers).
  • Repairs and maintains sheet metal products.
  • May operate computer-aided-drafting (CAD) equipment to develop scale drawings of products or systems and laser-beam cutter or plasma arc cutter to cut patterns from sheet metal.
  • Specialties are classified according to type of material (e.g., coppersmith, tinsmith) or type of activity (e.g., fabricator, special items; sheet metal model maker, product-development worker; metal roofer, sheet metal installer, maintenance worker, shop mechanic).


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