What Is It Known For?
The Electrical Trades Center opened in 1962 and has been training central Ohio’s next generation of electrical workers ever since. Located in Grandview Heights, Ohio, this training center prepares students to become IBEW members working as electricians or teledata installer-technicians. The school doesn’t publish specific enrollment numbers, but its focus stays on quality training rather than quantity.
What makes this center different is its apprenticeship approach, where you get paid while learning. You work with skilled professionals while building your expertise, and you receive a steady paycheck along with health benefits and retirement planning during your education. This setup gives you hands-on experience while developing technical skills needed for electrical work.
Degrees & Certifications
The center offers registered apprenticeship programs rather than traditional degrees. Their main programs include:
- Inside Wireman (Electrician) Apprenticeship
- Installer-Technician (Electrical Worker) Apprenticeship
While both programs follow the same basic admission process, they prepare you for different career paths in the electrical field. The Inside Wireman program trains you for traditional electrician work, while the Installer-Technician program focuses on electrical systems and data installation.
Class Schedules
Classes focus on building technical knowledge and teaching safety practices for electrical work. You’ll split time between classroom learning and practicing skills in real work environments. All instruction happens on-site since electrical work requires hands-on practice rather than online learning. Contact the center about evening schedules if you need classes outside regular hours.
Is It a Good School?
Yes, The Electrical Trades Center operates under joint oversight of two major industry organizations. TheInternational Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) work together to run the center, bringing decades of industry expertise and training standards to the program.
Acceptance Rate
The center doesn’t publish acceptance rate information, but they do have minimum requirements for joining. Review these requirements carefully before applying to increase your chances of acceptance.
How Much Does Tuition Cost?
The Electrical Trades Center in Ohio operates differently from typical schools because students get paid rather than paying fees.
The electrical contractors who hire you cover your wages, while the joint partnership between IBEW and NECA funds the training program itself. Reach out to the school directly to ask about any program fees or additional costs you might encounter.
Programs & Courses
Skilled Trades
- Electrician
- Inside Wireman Apprenticeship
Campus Locations
Columbus 947 Goodale Boulevard Columbus, OH 43212
Reviews
Based on local Google reviews and available program details, The Electrical Trades Center in Columbus, OH, is a union-backed training facility that offers a high-value apprenticeship with significant professional benefits. However, its reviews are notably polarized, highlighting serious issues with administrative conduct and the application process despite a strong core curriculum.
Overall Score: 3.2/5 Stars
Common Praises
High-Quality, Industry-Validated Curriculum: Reviews indicate the curriculum is of high quality and comprehensive, providing the necessary technical knowledge for a successful electrical career. The center is a joint effort between the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), ensuring the training meets rigorous industry standards.
Exceptional Professional Value: The center operates on a debt-free “Earn-While-You-Learn” registered apprenticeship model. Students are paid a livable wage and receive excellent benefits, including health insurance and retirement planning, while training to become Journeymen.
Dedicated Instructors: While instructor quality can be inconsistent, several reviewers acknowledge and praise certain educators for their exceptional teaching abilities and expertise in the trade.
Common Criticisms
Unprofessional Administrative Staff: This is the most consistent and long-standing complaint, with multiple reviewers over several years describing the front desk and administrative staff as “unprofessional” and “very rude” when contacted.
Misleading Acceptance Process: A severe complaint details a devastating administrative failure where an applicant was allegedly told they were accepted into the program and advised to quit their current job, only to be later informed they were not accepted, which the reviewer claimed “ruined my life.”
Inconsistent Instructor Quality: One reviewer noted that while some instructors are exceptional, others exhibit a “lack of improvement” in their teaching, suggesting a mixed experience in the classroom.
Momentum
The low volume of recent reviews makes a definitive momentum trend difficult to establish, but the complaints appear to be persistent systemic issues rather than one-off events. The most recent review from a long-time member confirms the enduring problem with rude and unprofessional front desk staff, indicating a lack of improvement in the administrative area. On the other hand, a more recent review offers a mixed but generally positive assessment of the high-quality curriculum and the presence of exceptional instructors, suggesting the core educational product remains strong. The few, isolated, but highly damaging complaints about the application process and staff rudeness are serious process failures that the institution has yet to consistently resolve, undermining the otherwise attractive and high-value proposition of its union-backed training program.