ABOUT US

Welcome to the Apprentice Information page. 

 

The International Association of Fire Fighters in Oregon with our employer partners developed this program to augment career fire service staffing while exposing under represented Oregonian’s to a career in the fire service. 

 

The uniqueness of this program is it takes our experienced fire fighters and gives more capabilities on the fire ground with entry level trained but inexperienced apprentices to mitigate fire and emergencies. 

 

This program will provide 4000 hours of training over the course of two years. From EMT Basic, applicable college level math and writing coursework to actual on the job training while augmenting our understaffed fire department and fire district service providers. 

 

The apprentice program is approved by the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) and adheres to strict guidelines for inclusion and training requirements. Along with the partnership with BOLI this apprenticeship partners organized labor and employers together in collaboration in developing a new era of fire fighters to better serve the cities and communities across Oregon.  

 

Governance of this apprenticeship is made up of equal parts labor and management on the Fire Fighter Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee (FFJATC). Each participating agency will have an employer representative from their administration and a labor representative from the International Association of Fire Fighters representing Local serving on the FFJATC.

 

Apprentices in the fire service are not a new idea, just here in Oregon. After the devastating fires of 2020, COVID 19 and increased requests for service, Oregon’s Fire Service is in dire need of “on the street” responding resources such as this program will provide.