Georgia Building Trades Academy is a YouthBuild program preparing Georgians aged 16–24 for registered apprenticeship in the union construction trades — with the credentials, the safety training, and the connections to actually get hired.
The Academy is a 501(c)(3) training organization dedicated to giving Georgians the education and employment opportunities that lead to a career in construction. We prepare people to enter and succeed in registered apprenticeship programs — the gateway to strong, middle-class jobs in the U.S. construction industry.
GABTA is supported by the Atlanta & North Georgia Building & Construction Trades Council, 19 affiliate construction unions and their Joint Apprenticeship Training Committees, alongside community groups, contractors, and government agencies.
MC3, OSHA, welding, forklift, and First Aid/CPR. These are the cards a contractor asks to see, and the ones an apprenticeship committee recognizes on an application.
Driver’s education, 4 Wheels 4 Work, and Insure The Ride exist because transportation is the most common reason a good job does not last. We deal with that directly.
Every cohort ends with a ceremony, and every ceremony ends with people walking into apprenticeships. That is the measure that matters — not how many enrolled, but how many are still in the trade a year later.
How the program worksOpen to Georgians aged 16–24. The application takes a few minutes and there is no cost to apply or to attend.
Complete the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum alongside OSHA safety certification and hands-on shop time in welding and equipment.
Leave with an OSHA card, First Aid/CPR/AED certification, forklift certification, and the MC3 credential.
Move into a registered apprenticeship with one of 19 affiliate unions — earning a wage from day one while you finish training.
Shop time is the point. Participants strike an arc, run a bead, operate equipment, and work to the standards a job site actually holds them to — because that is what an apprenticeship committee is looking for.
Every track below runs at the Academy in Atlanta. Most participants complete several.
The nationally recognized pre-apprenticeship curriculum built by North America’s Building Trades Unions. Covers trade math, blueprint reading, tools, and the history and structure of the union trades — the credential apprenticeship programs actually recognize.
Federal construction safety training. An OSHA card is the baseline every contractor asks for before you set foot on a job site, and every GABTA participant leaves with one.
Shop time on real equipment. Participants learn to strike an arc, run a bead, and read a weld — the entry skill behind ironworking, pipefitting, boilermaking, and sheet metal.
Powered industrial truck certification. A short course with an immediate payoff — it is one of the few credentials that can move somebody into work the same month they earn it.
Certification in first aid, CPR, and automated external defibrillator use. Required on most commercial sites and useful everywhere else.
A driver’s license is the single most common barrier between a graduate and a job site. GABTA runs driver’s education directly so transportation stops being the reason a career stalls.
Apprenticeship is how the construction trades have trained their people for generations — you earn while you learn, and you come out the other side with a career rather than a debt.
Build and install boilers and large pressure vessels in power generation, paper mills, and refineries.
Build walls, structures, and facades in brick, block, and stone — work designed to last generations.
Frame and finish commercial and industrial structures in wood, metal, and concrete from blueprints.
Install and maintain electrical and power systems, from commercial buildings to industrial robotics.
A rare and demanding skill set with excellent wages — nearly every building in Atlanta needs one.
Move earth and materials with state-of-the-art machinery, using load calculations and crane operations.
Install, maintain, and repair heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems.
Install insulation on piping, HVAC, and process systems — saving energy and cutting emissions.
If you are between 16 and 24 and want a career instead of a job, this is where it starts. Call 404-584-0005 or apply online.
Start your application