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I-TAP’s electrician trainee courses are designed to prepare you for a successful career as a commercial electrician.

To become a certified electrician in California, you must accumulate at least 8,000 hours of on-the-job experience. But while practical experience is important—that’s why we have the best hands-on lab anywhere—you also have to complete 720 hours of instruction and pass California’s certification test to become a journeyman electrician. I-TAP’s program has been designed from top to bottom to ensure that you can not only complete all of these requirements, but also attain the skills to start a successful, profitable career as a certified electrician.

Below, you will find information on our programs, and the subjects they cover, and the latest class schedule. If you have any questions, just contact us and let us know!

Learn more about I-TAPs courses and how to prepare for the electrical certification exam

I-TAP’s electrician courses prepare you to meet the educational requirements of an electrical trainee program in only six months!

Due to state and federal regulations, it is no longer possible for those interested in the electrical trade to simply get a job as an electrician trainee and work their way up. You must be enrolled in a certified apprenticeship or trainee program in order to work in the field.

Apprenticeship programs are typically 3 to 5 years in length. But at I-Tap, trainees receive the same learning experience and treatment as apprentices in only 6 months.

In just 6 short months, our trainee program will prepare you to take the California certification exam and be on your way to working as a journeyman electrician.

What you need to know about the electrician certification exam.

After completing the required classroom instruction, you’re ready to take the California state certification exam. To work in California as a general electrician under the supervision of a C-10 licensed contractor, you must pass this exam. The general electrician exam is a 100-question test. You are given 4 ½ hours to answer questions covering safety, determination of electrical system requirements, installation, and maintenance and repair.

You may be nervous at the idea of having to take a test. But don’t stress. I-TAP’s trainee program is designed to not only give you the knowledge and practical skills you need to succeed as an electrician, but also to prepare you for the topics covered in the certification exam.

I-TAP’s electrician trainee courses give you the knowledge you need to succeed as an electrician.

The commercial electrician program is a 26 week, 900 hour-long course, and covers all the required topics as outlined by the California Division of Industrial Relations Electrician Certification Unit. Approximately 35% of the time spent in class will be in a lab environment. It is essential to the success of the students that they participate in hands-on labs to gain real world experience.

The objective of the commercial electrician course is to provide students with the education required to be employable as commercial electrician trainees. Upon completion of the curriculum students will have earned an California Electrical Trainee Card, as well as be eligible to take the California General Certification Exam, however they will not be considered “certified” unless they have also completed 8,000 hours of on the job experience.

Subjects covered, and approximate hours per subject:

I-TAP’s electrical labs offer hands-on learning opportunities you won’t find anywhere else.

Classes are interactive, incorporating lectures and group study. In class, students will study theory and code to give them a better understanding of the work they do in the field.

However, learning the skills needed to succeed in the trade requires access to hands-on learning opportunities. I-TAP highly values lab work as a way to give students a chance to apply what they have learned in real-world situations.

The importance placed on lab work is why I-TAP has chosen to integrate its lab and classroom facilities, instead of sharing labs with other classes, as is the format for most other programs. In this fashion, I-TAP maximizes our students’ opportunity to participate in lab-based learning. I-TAP has built a lab facility which closely mirrors situations apprentices will see in the field, and students will spend between 25 to 35% of each semester doing hands-on lab work.

I-TAP offers twice as many labs as other electrical training programs, with an average of more than 12 hours of hands—on lab time each week. I-TAP takes pride in being the only school in Northern California that ensures that there is sufficient lab equipment for each and every student-no more than 2 students will ever have to collaborate on a project.

Our labs include:

A/B, 1 pole, 3-Way and 4-Way Switching
Beginning and Advanced Pipe Bending
Drawing & Design
Fire Alarm & HVAC
Foreperson Training
Generators
Instrumentation
Lighting Control
Low Voltage Cable: Telephone/Data
Motor Control Stop/ Start/ Mag Starter
Motor Control: Bob's Grain Elevator
Motors ID: Hookup Winding Components
Meters
Title 24: Motion Sensors
Plan Reading
Power Tools
Fiber Optics
Transformers

You can also learn as you earn with our 5-year commercial electrician training program!

At I-TAP, our students receive most of their training on the jobsite, working under the supervision of skilled journeypersons.

But, for two weeks per semester, our students leave the field and move into the classroom—with classes being held during the day for five days each week—where they study theory and code. You receive the same time-tested mix of formal and hands-on training as in our 26-week course, but in a format that allows you to maintain a full-time career in the field.

In I-TAP’s program, there are no evening classes, with exhausted students working a full day before coming to class. You’ll have your evenings free, and won’t have to sacrifice time with your family or your social life as with traditional programs.

Here’s our course catalog updated to address Covid-19 , and everything you need to jumpstart your career as an electrician!

I-Tap’s course catalog includes details on classes and courses that are required in order to start your career as an electrician in California.

DOWNLOAD COURSE/INSTITUTIONAL CATALOG

Getting Started

Learn how to jumpstart your electrician career and how I-Tap’s classes and labs help you prepare

Getting Started Packet

Class Schedule

We start new classes all throughout the year. Check out our schedule for the current class year!

2022 Class Schedule