Barr Construction Institute
Barr Construction Institute
The Barr Construction Institute is located at HCC’s D.M. Bowman Family Workforce Training Center, at 562 Northern Avenue in Hagerstown.
The Barr Institute provides both formal apprenticeship and craft training programs that are registered with the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (DLLR), the National Center for and Research (NCCER), and Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council (MATC). These programs meet all federal and state requirements for formal apprenticeship and prevailing wage work including employer-sponsored classroom instruction and on-the-job training. Upon successful completion, apprentices are recognized at the journey-worker level in their trade and are awarded their Maryland DLLR certificate of completion.
What is an apprentice?
An apprentice is a highly committed individual who works full time under the direction of a journey-worker or master while attending classes in the evening. Barr Institute apprentices are registered with Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council (MATC), National Center for Construction, Education and Research (NCCER). Apprentices can also be registered in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, depending on where the student is working.
The next round of classes is expected to begin in September 2025.
Depending upon the trade, the program covers two to four years of classroom related instruction. Attaining Journeyperson status for most trades a student must accumulate 8,000 on-the-job training hours and at least 576 hours of related instruction in order to achieve Journeyperson status. A full-time job totals 2,000 hours each year and our Apprenticeship Training Program provides at least 144 hours of related instruction per year. The following curriculum trade courses are offered:
- Carpentry
- Cement Mason/Concrete Finisher
- Construction Craft Laborer
- Electrical
- Glazier
- Heavy Equipment Operator
- HVAC-R
- Insulation Worker
- Painter
- Pipefitter
- Plumbing
- Reinforcing Ironworker
- Roofer
- Sheet Metal
- Sprinkler Fitter
- Steamfitter
- Structural Ironworker
- Welder
The Apprenticeship Program Standards are registered with and approved by:
- The states of Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship (OA)
The process includes:
- Math pre-test
- 3 letters of reference
- High school transcripts
- Completed Application
- Registration Fees
- Other information as needed
After successfully meeting the written requirements, an applicant must then pass an interview process.