Local electrician apprentices in union IBEW 98 will be able to pursue four-year degrees through a partnership with Rowan University’s Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering. Courses will be offered fully online and participants will be able to earn three stackable undergraduate construction certificates, a Bachelor of Arts in construction management, two graduate certificates in engineering management, and a Masters degree in Engineering Management. 

IBEW Local 98 is an electrician union in Philadelphia with more than 4,500 members. Additionally, they accept about 200 apprentices annually. Members of the union are required to complete a five-year apprenticeship. 

Students will also be able to complete one or more of these certificates by applying for credits to earn the next higher-level degree. 

Dean of the College of Engineering, Giuseppe R. Palmese, explained how this partnership came to be. 

“The partnership is based on our construction management program. The construction management program is over 10 years old, and it started as a completion program essentially in partnership with NABTU (North American Building Trades Union),” Palmese said. 

The program is designed for students to complete their union training and work full-time while pursuing their degree or certificate online. 

“I saw that the program could be rearranged in a way that’s more accessible to folks who want to take it, and we created certificates out of it,” said Palmese. 

Palmese emphasized that this partnership aligns with certain pillars of the university, such as affordability and accessibility. 

“There’s no reason why the growing population that’s going into the trades and into apprenticeship programs couldn’t also have a higher ed degree, like a four-year degree,” Palmese said. 

John Smith, senior civil engineering major, plans to work for a company he is currently interning for after he graduates, but sees how this would be beneficial to some of his colleagues. 

“The only thing I could see would be the surveyors because I know some of my co-workers have come back and they also got their surveying degree. One of my classmates, currently, is also thinking about getting a surveying degree as well,” Smith said. 

Rees Pillik, junior electrical and computer engineering major, said he knows of many people interested in working in a union. 

“A lot of people that I know want to work on stuff within the union, like electrician kind of stuff. So it seems pretty cool,” Pillik said. 

While the program is currently set up for apprentices to enter Rowan, the opposite will be possible down the line as well. The current cohort has begun classes this fall, with over 20 students. 

As for tuition costs, it is up to students whether they want to take on a full class load versus being a part-time student. Depending on what union they are a part of, they could receive benefits and discounted credit costs. 

Moving forward, there are partnerships in the works with other unions of other trades, such as plumbers and carpenters. Palmese said the partnership with IBEW 98 is the “first of many.”

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