Mechanical Trades Institute

What Mechanical Trades Institute does

Mechanical Trades Institute (MTI-JATT) is a non-profit apprenticeship training institution operating as a Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust, jointly sponsored by the Mechanical Contractors Association of Georgia (MCAG) and Plumbers, Pipefitters & Service Technicians Local Union No. 72. Established in 1936 and registered with the U.S. Department of Labor in 1942, MTI delivers tuition-free, five-year registered apprenticeship programs in four crafts: Plumbing, Pipefitting, Pipe Welding, and HVACR. The program combines paid on-the-job training (minimum 1,700 hours per year) with classroom instruction (minimum 210 hours per year) and online learning delivered via Canvas LMS, culminating in credentials such as the Georgia state journeyman license, OSHA 30, backflow certification, and medical gas installer/brazing certification.

The underlying training infrastructure spans six Georgia locations — the main Atlanta campus at 6120 Purdue Drive SW and satellite campuses in Rome, Albany, Covington (Newton College and Career Academy), and Lawrenceville (Maxwell HS of Technology), with an Eastside Campus in Lawrenceville coming soon. The Welding Technology Center supports advanced certification in 78 welding processes, including SMAW, GTAW, GMAW, and Mechanized Orbital Welding, and serves as a continuing education hub for Local Union 72's journeymen. Affiliation with the United Association places MTI within a network of 300+ training centers across the US, Canada, Australia, and Ireland, and supports reciprocal credential recognition. Twenty staff members coordinate operations across the four trades.

The business model is structured as a sponsorship-funded non-profit: MCAG contractors and Local Union 72 members fund the trust through industry contributions and union dues, eliminating tuition for apprentices. Revenue is supplemented by nominal application fees ($60 apprenticeship + $20 Local Union 72 + $30-40 ACT WorkKeys testing) and journeyman continuing education/certification fees. Distribution is geographically concentrated in Georgia, with apprentices placed exclusively with signatory (MIC) contractors through the Local Union 72 dispatch system. The go-to-market motion is community- and event-driven, leveraging open houses, annual hiring fairs (14+ contractors at the HVACR Hiring Fair), and the union network to recruit candidates.

Name

Mechanical Trades Institute

Legal name

Mechanical Trades Institute - Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust

Website

https://mti-jatt.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1936

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Mechanical Trades Institute is a non-profit apprenticeship training center in Atlanta, Georgia, jointly sponsored by Local Union 72 and the Mechanical Contractors Association of Georgia, offering free five-year registered apprenticeships in plumbing, pipefitting, HVACR, and welding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Skilled Trades Apprenticeship Training

NAICS

Apprenticeship Training (611513)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Pipe Welding & Industrial Piping Fabrication Training (EDAOADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Apprenticeships, Internships & Work-Based Learning Programs (BPACANAK), Arc Welding (SMAW/GMAW/FCAW/GTAW) Training (EDAOADAA), Welding Codes, Safety & Compliance Training (AWS/ASME/OSHA) (EDAOADAG), Brazing, Soldering & Joining Processes Training (EDAOADAK)

Keywords

• Apprenticeship training
• Skilled trades education
• Plumbing apprenticeship
• Pipefitting training
• HVACR training

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Apprenticeship Program Sponsorship: The program is funded entirely through sponsorships from the Mechanical Contractors Association of Georgia and Plumbers, Pipefitters & Service Technicians Local Union No 72. Tuition is FREE for all students. Revenue is generated through union dues and contractor contributions to the training trust.
2. Application Fees: $60 application fee for the apprenticeship program. Additional $20 application fee for Local Union 72. ACT WorkKeys assessments at $30-$40 per section.
3. Continuing Education and Certification Classes: Provides continuing education and certification training for journeymen including Medical Gas certification, weld re-certification, and other specialized courses. Classes are available for sign-up through the website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Mechanical Trades Institute runs a tuition-free, DOL-registered five-year apprenticeship program training individuals in four mechanical trades—Plumbing, Pipefitting, Pipe Welding, and HVACR—combining on-the-job training (minimum 1,700 hours/year) with classroom instruction (minimum 210 hours/year). Apprentices earn wages while learning and are placed with signatory contractors through Local Union 72 dispatch, while journeymen access continuing education, Medical Gas certification, and welding recertification at the Welding Technology Center.

Product overview

Mechanical Trades Institute offers a unified five-year registered apprenticeship program in four mechanical trades, sponsored by Local Union 72 and the Mechanical Contractors Association of Georgia. The core offerings include Plumbing, Pipefitting, Pipe Welding, and HVACR apprenticeship programs, each combining on-the-job training with classroom instruction at no cost to students. Supporting services include Journeyman Training for continuing education and certification renewals, and a Welding Technology Center providing advanced weld testing and recertification in 78 different welding processes. All programs are tuition-free due to union and contractor sponsorship.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,394 active certifications among active members
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Mechanical Contractors Association of Georgia (MCAG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMCAG is one of the oldest and most respected organizations representing heating, ventilating, air conditioning, refrigeration and plumbing industry in Georgia. MCAG contractor members have labor agreements with United Association of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters, providing MCAG contractors an unlimited supply of trained journeymen and apprentices. MCAG sponsors the apprenticeship program along with Local Union 72, enabling free tuition for all students.
• Local Union 72 (Plumbers, Pipefitters & Service Technicians)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Union 72 is the sponsoring union for the apprenticeship program, providing training facilities, instructors, and dispatch services. The union has been operating for over 131 years in metropolitan Atlanta and Georgia. Currently has 15,394 active certifications among members. Partners with MTI to provide the 'Earn as They Learn' apprenticeship model.
• United Association (UA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUA is the international union for Plumbers, Pipefitters, Welders, and HVACR Service Technicians. MTI is one of over 300 UA training centers across the United States. UA training is recognized across the US, Canada, Australia, and Ireland. The UA Instructor Training Program held at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Michigan provides ongoing instructor certification.
• Signatory Contractors (MIC - Mechanical Industries Council)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSignatory contractors are MCAG members with labor agreements with Local Union 72. They employ apprentices and journeymen trained by MTI. Apprentices are employed by MIC contractors during their 5-year apprenticeship, working on major construction projects under the direction of professional journeymen.
• Washtenaw Community CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for the UA Instructor Training Program held annually in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The program is considered one of the most successful skills training programs in North America, with approximately 2,000 instructors attending annually.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Penn Foster: Online vocational education provider offering self-paced trades programs including HVAC and welding. Comparable as an alternative delivery format (online vs. hybrid/in-person) that could erode MTI's addressable candidate pool, particularly among working adults who cannot commit to fixed schedules.

Broad incumbents

• Lincoln Tech: For-profit national vocational school with HVAC, welding, and electrical programs. Comparable as a private trade-education provider competing for the same apprentice candidate pool, but funded via tuition rather than industry sponsorship, and without MTI's direct placement guarantee.
• Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC): National trade association representing merit-shop construction contractors with its own apprenticeship program. Comparable as the principal alternative apprenticeship ecosystem to the UA/MCAG/Local 72 model that MTI depends on, competing for both candidates and signatory contractor relationships.
• Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC): National apprenticeship and training organization for merit-shop (non-union) electrical contractors. Operates a parallel four-year apprenticeship model with similar classroom/OJT hour structures, but for the electrical trade and outside the union ecosystem — providing a useful model comparison for MTI's union-based model.
• National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER): National credentialing body that sets standardized craft training curricula and certifications across 70+ construction trades, including plumbing, pipefitting, welding, and HVAC. Comparable as an industry-standardized training and certification infrastructure that competes and complements UA's credentialing approach used at MTI.

Regional players

• Georgia Piedmont Technical College: Georgia technical college system member offering programs in HVAC, welding, electrical, and industrial systems. Comparable as a regional publicly-funded trade education alternative serving the same Georgia candidate market as MTI, but through tuition-based short-term credential programs.
• Atlanta Technical College: Georgia-based public technical college offering diploma and certificate programs in HVAC, plumbing, welding, and industrial systems. Comparable as a regional Georgia trade-education provider that competes with MTI for the same apprentice candidate pool, but with a tuition-based (rather than sponsor-funded) model.

Direct peers

• Washtenaw Community College: Hosts the UA Instructor Training Program attended by ~2,000 instructors annually. While broader in scope, its hosting role in UA instructor certification makes it a direct counterpart to MTI's use of the same UA curriculum and instructor quality standards.
• United Association Local 1 (Chicago) JATC: A UA-affiliated Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee serving plumbers, pipefitters, welders, and HVACR service technicians in Chicago. Operates the same earn-while-you-learn apprenticeship model under the UA umbrella, training apprentices for signatory contractors — directly comparable in product, model, and delivery mechanism to MTI.
• Local Union 290 (Portland) UA JATC: Another UA-affiliated JATC training plumbers, pipefitters, welders, and HVACR technicians in Oregon/SW Washington under the same United Association curriculum. Operates the same earn-while-you-learn apprenticeship model with signatory contractor placement — a near-twin to MTI's structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MTIJATT
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCg7k9WwHOK2B33RSS_h6AJA

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mechanical Trades Institute