Southwest Carpenters Training

What Southwest Carpenters Training does

Western States Carpenters Training Fund (WSCTF), formerly known as Southwest Carpenters Training Fund, is a federally recognized non-profit Taft-Hartley Trust Fund established in 1958 to deliver registered apprenticeship training for members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters across six western U.S. states. The organization operates 14 distinct trade programs — spanning carpenter, millwright, pile driver, terrazzo installer/finisher, drywall applicator, plasterer, insulator, lather, floor layer, acoustical installer, cabinetmaker, residential carpenter, scaffold erector, and modular furnishing installer — each structured as a 3- to 5-year registered apprenticeship combining 5,200-8,000 on-the-job training hours with 160 hours per year of classroom instruction. Programs lead to credentials portable across all 50 states, issued jointly through UBC, state agencies, and the U.S. Department of Labor, and apprentices can earn 18-30 college credit hours through community college partnerships.

WSCTF is jointly governed and funded by union and management trustees under the Taft-Hartley Act; tuition is paid by the trust fund so apprentices incur no training cost. Apprentices pay union initiation fees (starting at $80), basic hand tools (~$100-$200), and books, and they earn wages from day one starting at ~$15/hour with incremental raises. Recruitment flows through multiple channels: local union offices, Helmets to Hardhats (military veterans), Job Corps (at-risk youth 16+), Career Connections (high school students), and a 4-week pre-apprenticeship program. Operational tooling includes a Training Verification Card with QR-code access to apprentice records and a Blue Book weekly hour-tracking system. The fund operates with a lean 31-employee core team from its Ontario, California headquarters and supports a regional network of training centers, with a newly opened Boise, Idaho facility (April 2026) replacing the former Meridian center to absorb regional construction demand.

Name

Southwest Carpenters Training

Legal name

Western States Carpenters Training Fund

Website

https://swmsctf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

WSCTF is a federally recognized non-profit Taft-Hartley Trust Fund delivering registered apprenticeship training across 14 construction trades and six western U.S. states for United Brotherhood of Carpenters members, funded jointly by union and management trustees with no tuition cost to apprentices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Construction Apprenticeship Training

NAICS

Apprenticeship Training (611513), Technical and Trade Schools (6115), Other Technical and Trade Schools (611519)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Apprenticeships, Pre-Apprenticeships & Work-Based Learning (EDAAAOAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Apprenticeships, Internships & Work-Based Learning Programs (BPACANAK), Construction & Trades Licensure (Contractor, Electrician, Plumber, HVAC CE) (EDAAALAH), Working at Heights, Fall Protection & Scaffolding (EDABAEAH), Incumbent Worker Training & Upskilling (EDAAAOAE)

Keywords

• Construction apprenticeship training
• Carpentry trade education
• Skilled trades workforce
• Construction craft programs
• Union apprenticeship programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Ontario

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Joint Labor-Management Trust Funding: The organization is a federally recognized non-profit Taft-Hartley Trust Fund funded jointly by unions and employers. The trust funds apprenticeship training programs, facilities, and equipment. Training tuition is paid by the WSCTF - there is no cost to apprentices for classroom or workplace training.
2. Union Membership Fees: Apprentices pay union membership initiation fees (starting at $80) and ongoing union dues. These fees support union operations and member benefits.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Western States Carpenters Training Fund (WSCTF) operates as a federally recognized Taft-Hartley Trust Fund that delivers registered apprenticeship training across 14 construction crafts, including carpentry, millwright, pile driver, drywall, and terrazzo work. Programs combine 5,200–8,000 hours of on-the-job training with 160 hours per year of related supplemental instruction (RSI) at training centers across six western states. The fund also provides a 4-week pre-apprenticeship, supplemental technical courses, and partnerships with Helmets to Hardhats, Job Corps, and Career Connections, producing journey workers with federally and UBC-recognized credentials.

Product overview

Western States Carpenters Training Fund operates as a comprehensive apprenticeship and training organization offering 14 distinct trade programs across six states. The portfolio includes 15 core apprenticeship programs spanning construction crafts (carpenter, residential carpenter, millwright, pile driver, terrazzo installer/finisher, drywall applicator, plasterer, insulator, lather, floor layer, scaffold erector, acoustical installer, cabinetmaker, and modular furnishing installer) ranging from 3 to 5 years in duration. Additionally, the organization provides a 4-week pre-apprenticeship program, over 15 technical courses covering print reading, framing, forming, stairs, and tool applications, and partnerships with Helmets to Hardhats, Job Corps, and Career Connections. The training combines on-the-job learning with 160 hours annually of classroom instruction per year, leading to nationally recognized credentials from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, state agencies, and the U.S. Department of Labor.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Carpenter Apprenticeship Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 91% of apprentices retain employment after the program ends
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Helmets to HardhatscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational nonprofit organization working with active-duty military, retired service members, National Guard and Reserve members seeking employment in construction. WSCTF provides full funding for program participants once accepted into the Apprenticeship Program. Partnership helps service members transition to civilian careers as union carpenters.
• Job CorpscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWSCTF works with U.S. Department of Labor to facilitate Job Corps program serving men and women age 16+ at risk of failing school and falling into poverty. Job Corps is a pre-apprenticeship program that provides entry into the carpentry trade and teaches skills for union carpenter careers.
• Career ConnectionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram offered by United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC) and created by Carpenters International Training Fund. Introduces high school students to all aspects of carpentry through curriculum developed by UBC carpenters. Provides hands-on experience and training in fundamental and advanced carpentry skills.
• United Brotherhood of CarpenterscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLargest construction union in North America. WSCTF provides training and lifelong learning opportunities for UBC members. Credentials are issued in partnership with UBC and Joiners of America.
• Carpenters Services Administrative Corporation (CSAC)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProvides administrative services including vacation pay processing, health benefits, and pension administration for union carpenters. Apprentices and journey workers access benefits through CSAC.
• Northern California Carpenters UnionminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorUnion organization that has expanded jurisdiction into Washington, Oregon, and Bakersfield as part of broader regional growth effort. Training programs continue as planned during expansion.
• Local Education AgenciescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWSCTF partners with local education agencies and community colleges to ensure professional approach to training and provide college credit pathways (18-30 units) for apprentices.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• United Association of Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Service Techs (UA): UA runs roughly 300 local joint apprenticeship training centers across the U.S. and Canada. Closely comparable in operating model: joint labor-management trust funding, multi-year registered apprenticeships, paid training, and nationally portable journey-worker credentials.
• Carpenters International Training Fund (CITF): The UBC's international training organization that develops curriculum (Career Connections, CITF programs) used by WSCTF. Operates as a direct peer in apprenticeship curriculum design and national credentialing standards for carpenters.
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) / NJATC: IBEW operates the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (NJATC), which runs the largest electrical apprenticeship program in North America. Highly comparable in structure: jointly trusteed labor-management training fund, registered apprenticeship model, multi-state training centers, similar paid-apprentice model.
• International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers: Ironworkers operate a national apprenticeship and training program through regional joint apprenticeship committees. Directly comparable in being a construction trade union running multi-year registered apprenticeships via joint labor-management training trusts.
• International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local Training Programs: IUOE runs heavy-equipment operator apprenticeship programs through regional training trusts. Comparable in delivering registered construction-trade apprenticeships with joint labor-management funding and paid classroom + on-the-job training.

Others

• Helmets to Hardhats: National nonprofit connecting military veterans to registered construction apprenticeships across all trades. WSCTF is a participating partner; comparable as an adjacent ecosystem player in apprenticeship recruitment pipelines.
• Job Corps (U.S. Department of Labor): Federal pre-apprenticeship program serving at-risk youth age 16+. WSCTF is a partner receiving Job Corps graduates into its carpentry apprenticeship pathway. Comparable as an upstream feeder/adjacent program in the workforce development pipeline.

Broad incumbents

• National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER): NCCER is the leading industry-recognized craft training and credentialing body serving both union and open-shop construction. Comparable as a cross-trade construction education and certification organization; a competitor/alternative credentialing pathway to UBC-issued credentials.
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC): The parent/affiliated union that WSCTF serves and whose credentials it issues. UBC is the largest construction union in North America and sets the standards, curriculum frameworks, and credentialing policies that WSCTF delivers. Comparable as the institutional umbrella for carpentry apprenticeship training.
• Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC): ABC is the largest U.S. trade association for the non-union construction industry and runs its own apprenticeship and craft training programs. Comparable as an industry-wide construction training provider competing for the open-shop market segment that WSCTF's union-only model does not address.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Southwest-Carpenters-Training-Fund-907214522760929
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southwest-carpenters-training

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Southwest Carpenters Training