Pantex introduces new apprenticeship program

Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC (CNS) and the Metal Trades Council (MTC) on April 7 signed and submitted final paperwork to the US Department of Labor (DOL) for a new apprenticeship program at Pantex.

The program is being implemented to increase participation in trades work by hiring apprentices who are working on their qualifications and providing them the training and hours necessary to obtain journeyman certifications.

“We seek to hire the best talent available to provide career-enhancing assignments that improve our site,” said Pantex Site Manager Todd Ailes. “The apprenticeship program will serve Pantex and job seekers by training workers for jobs with promising futures.”

Apprentices are full-time, paid employees who earn while they learn. The previous apprenticeship program at Pantex was discontinued in the late 1980s.

“The new program’s implementation will improve community involvement and help us prepare for the future,” said David McCown, Pantex Infrastructure manager. “Pantex is a unique place to work. The program will allow us to recruit and train specifically for the support we provide to operations.”

The renewal of the program has been almost two years in the making and required a lot of work and persistence by members of team that included Pantex Infrastructure, Operations, Legal, Labor Relations, and the MTC. Y-12 National Security Complex, DOL, and the United Association Local Union 404 (Plumbers and Pipefitters union) assisted with requirements and training for the new program.

“Recruiting qualified trades workers is becoming a challenge given the nature of the competitive labor market,” said Tonya Detten, acting manager of Pantex Labor Relations. “These crafts take a very specific skill and require very technical training, including classroom training and supervised hours doing the work. That is where the apprenticeship program comes in; our journeymen can teach newcomers the trade and how it’s done at Pantex.”

Pantex will first accept pipefitter apprentices with plans to expand to sheet metal workers, boilermakers, and toolmakers in the future.

The COVID-19 pandemic slowed progress on the program’s launch because some trades would need to travel to Houston or Albuquerque for specific training—a challenge because of travel restrictions. Fortunately, local unions were able to provide the appropriate pipefitter training to get the program started

“The local Union Association of Pipefitters and Plumbers Union stepped in with local curriculum, classroom, and trade knowledge to get us off the ground and running,” Detten said. “We just took what COVID gave us and we figured out a way to make it work, and we look towards adding other trades as COVID restrictions are lifted.”

Apprentice training will take place on- and off site. Once the apprentices fully complete their apprenticeship, which takes approximately four years, they are employed as journey-level craftsmen.
They are paid on a sliding scale according to their training and experience until they obtain journeyman status.

CNS expects to have the first five pipefitter apprentices onboard at Pantex by the end of fiscal year 2021.

“It is great to see the reestablished apprentice program at Pantex, as it will set the stage for bringing the next generation of trades stewards that will maintain our infrastructure,” said Gabe Pugh, deputy manager NNSA Production Office, Pantex. “They are critical to the success of our mission at Pantex.”