Now accepting new applicants

Learn a trade.
Build a career.

Georgia Building Trades Academy prepares Georgians for registered apprenticeship in the union construction trades — with the credentials, the safety training, and the connections to actually get hired. Two programs, one application, no cost to attend.

Apply Now See the two programs

19 Affiliate construction unions

15 Trades to apprentice into

120h MC3 core curriculum

$0 Cost to apply or attend

Two ways in

Find the program that fits you

Both run in the same building, with the same instructors and the same credentials at the end. What differs is who is eligible and what else comes with it. You do not have to work out which one you are — one application covers both.

Ages 16–24

YouthBuild

Finish your education and learn a trade at the same time.

The federally recognized YouthBuild model: half your time in the classroom working toward a diploma or GED, half of it on tools. Built for young adults who left school without the credential they needed and want a career rather than a job.

Open to Georgians aged 16–24
Half-time education, half-time construction training
Diploma or GED support alongside the trade credentials
Wraparound support: transportation, mentoring, case management

About YouthBuild

Adults, no age limit

Trades Futures

Already have your diploma? Come see what the trades really look like.

For adults who already hold a high school diploma or GED and want direct exposure to the union construction trades. No age ceiling. You run the same certifications and meet the same apprenticeship committees, without the education half of the YouthBuild schedule.

No age limit — open to adults outside the 16–24 range
High school diploma or GED already in hand
The same MC3, OSHA, welding and forklift credentials
Direct introduction to the 19 affiliate unions and their JATCs

About Trades Futures

What GABTA is

A direct route into the skilled trades

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.

No cost to you

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.

Credentials that count

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.

Support past graduation

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.

The point of all of it

Graduation is the start, not the finish

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.

About the Academy

How it works

From application to apprenticeship

Apply

One application covers both programs. It takes a few minutes, and there is no cost to apply or to attend.

Train

Complete the Multi-Craft Core Curriculum alongside OSHA safety certification and hands-on shop time in welding and equipment.

Certify

Leave with an OSHA card, First Aid/CPR/AED certification, forklift certification, and the MC3 credential.

Apprentice

Move into a registered apprenticeship with one of 19 affiliate unions — earning a wage from day one while you finish training.

Hands on tools

You will not learn this from a slide deck

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.

Training & certifications

What you will actually learn

Every track below runs at the Academy in Atlanta, for both programs. Most participants complete several.

120 hours

Multi-Craft Core Curriculum

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.

10–30 hours

OSHA Safety Certification

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.

Hands-on lab

Welding

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.

1 day

Forklift Certification

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.

1 day

First Aid, CPR & AED

Certification in first aid, CPR, and automated external defibrillator use. Required on most commercial sites and useful everywhere else.

Varies

Driver's Education

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.

All training tracks

Choose your skill

Fifteen trades. One way in.

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.

Boilermaker

Build and install boilers and large pressure vessels in power generation, paper mills, and refineries.

Bricklayer

Build walls, structures, and facades in brick, block, and stone — work designed to last generations.

Carpenter

Frame and finish commercial and industrial structures in wood, metal, and concrete from blueprints.

Electrician

Install and maintain electrical and power systems, from commercial buildings to industrial robotics.

Elevator Constructor

A rare and demanding skill set with excellent wages — nearly every building in Atlanta needs one.

Heavy Equipment Operator

Move earth and materials with state-of-the-art machinery, using load calculations and crane operations.

HVACR Technician

Install, maintain, and repair heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration systems.

Insulator

Install insulation on piping, HVAC, and process systems — saving energy and cutting emissions.

See all fifteen trades

Inside the Academy

What a cohort looks like

A participant welding in the shop — Shop time on live equipment.

Graduates in caps and gowns at the YouthBuild ceremony — Georgia YouthBuild graduation.

Crews working a commercial construction deck — Where the work goes next.

Applications are open

Whichever program fits, it starts the same way. Call 404-584-0005 or apply online.

Start your application

Learn a trade.Build a career.