FAQ

1. When does school start?

a. School usually begins the second week of September. If you are enrolled with the educational fund you will receive a letter with a starting date and calendar for the year. If you do not receive this, please have your employer send us your enrollment form and contact us to confirm.

2. How do I upgrade?

a. Each student is required to attend 180 hours of job related education per year. Registered apprentices with NYSOL are required to fill out a “Blue Book” with 1,640 hours per year of on the job training (OJT). Unregistered apprentices are required to fill out a “Beige Book” with 2,000 hours per year of OJT. Both of these requirements must be met each year to qualify for an upgrade. Classifications can only be upgraded once per year.

3. When should I turn in my OJT hours (Blue Book/Beige Book)?

a. If you are looking to upgrade on time, you should submit your book once a month to the education fund via email or fax. All turned in hours should meet the following standards: supervisor initials must be present in the right-hand column for every day worked, column totals and monthly totals must be added cumulatively, and supervisor’s signature with a grade must be provided at the bottom. Submission of OJT hours each month will assure a timely upgrade.

4. How many absences am I allowed each year?

a. None. Depending upon the school calendar each year, two to three extra classes are added above the original 180 required hours. These classes are added for emergency reasons such as snow days, natural disasters, etc. There are only 12 hours of makeup classes per year that are reserved for late-entry students. These makeup classes are not for students who choose to miss original class dates.

5. I feel my classification has been unfairly assigned. Can I take a test to be upgraded?

a. In order to be scheduled for a placement test, you must provide proof of work. Verified forms of proof include W-2’s and paycheck stubs to match. If you also have proof of schooling,transcripts will be accepted. Once these documents are received from the education fund, we will send notification of a placement test date.

6. I took OSHA 10 and have not received my card yet. When will I receive it?

a. The OSHA cards are distributed directly by OSHA rather than the educational fund. As soon as the educational fund receives them, they are sent directly to you personally or your employer. If you need a certificate to confirm your attendance please contact the office. There is generally a delay of 3-4 months to receive the cards due to processing.

7. I took a 4-Hour Scaffold course and have not received my card yet. When will I receive it?

a. Scaffolding cards generally take 1-2 months to process and mail out.

8. What do I do if I lose my OSHA card?

a. If an OSHA card is lost the educational fund must be contacted to replace the card. There will be a fee to replace the card and will take over 6 months to process.

9. What is required of me at school?

a. Each apprentice is required to be at class at 5:30PM and will be granted a 15-minute grace period. If an apprentice arrives after 5:45PM, they will be marked an hour late. If the apprentice arrives after the supervisor picks up the attendance sheets (between 6:00PM-6:30PM) they will be marked absent. Apprentices are not permitted to leave the building between 5:30PM-8:30PM. If they leave the building they will not be allowed re-entry. All apprentices will be issued a NYC code book and a textbook that they are required to bring with them each night. If these books are lost the apprentice will be required to re-purchase. If there is a problem with any apprentice being disruptive or not bringing in the required material they will be warned twice by the teacher. On the third incident, the apprentice will be asked to leave the class and will only be readmitted upon the discretion of the director of the educational fund.

10. I have just been laid off. Do I still attend school?

a. The educational fund will allow you to finish the remainder of the current school year while laid off. It is your choice to continue or not. If you do not continue attending school, you will have to repeat the current year of schooling next year.