Milazzo to put training first at NJ trades council

Real Estate Weekly, June 9, 2004

J. David Milazzo of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, has been named chairman of the New Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council (NJB&CTC) Apprentice Coordinators Committee, an informational forum for those developing and operating educational training programs on behalf of the state's skilled construction workers.

The council represents 13 local trade councils and more than 100 local affiliated unions, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 164, in Paramus, New Jersey, where Milazzo serves as training director and president.

The committee is comprised of training coordinators and directors dedicated to advancing the level of union-sponsored training programs throughout the state, including those developed for asbestos workers, boilermakers, bricklayers, carpenters, electrical workers, elevator constructors, iron workers, laborers, operating engineers, painters, pipe trades, roofers and sheet metal workers:

"As an acknowledged leader in the field of apprenticeship training and continuing education programming, Dave Milazzo will have the opportunity to share his depth of experience and industry knowledge with the New Jersey Building and Construction Trades Council membership," said Richard Dressel, business manager for IBEW Local 164. "His commitment to education throughout the IBEW--and the construction industry as a whole--has been, and will continue to be, of tremendous benefit to the safety and well-being of workers, contractors, developers, and the general public."

Under Milazzo's direction, Local 164 has received national recognition for apprenticeship and skill training provided to its more than 3,900 members, who include electricians active throughout Bergen, Hudson and Essex counties as well as telecommunications workers throughout the state. The 40,000-square-foot IBEW Local 164 Training Academy in Paramus, New Jersey, is one of the most technically advanced centers of its kind in the state. Among the training center's capabilities are instrumentation, fire alarms, PLCs, conveyor systems, structured wiring, fiber optics, electronic key, PBX and advanced computers.

"At Local 164, the key to our successful apprenticeship programs is the balance between intensive classroom instruction and a minimum of 8,000 hours of on-the-job training with one of our signatory electrical and telecommunications contractors," said Milazzo.

"The goal of the Apprentice Coordinators Committee is similar--to establish a network of training programs that helps all apprentices achieve proficiency in the complete scope of the building and construction business."

A member of IBEW Local 164 for more than 38 years, Milazzo served as an apprentice machinist for Lever Brother Company before completing his four-year electrical apprenticeship training. He also served as a maintenance supervisor for Beach Electric Company at the Exxon Plant in Bayonne, New Jersey, and as an apprentice, journeyman and foreman for various Local 164 electrical contractors prior to entering the training field.

"It was during these years that I realized the value of keeping pace with the evolving technology," said Milazzo.

A graduate of the University of Tennessee's Instructor Training Institute, he went on to study engineering math at the University of Massachusetts and Capital Radio Engineering Institute. In addition, he pursued teaching methods training at Jersey City State College and labor studies at Ramapo College, both in New Jersey.

"I am a lifelong learner and, as such, it is my goal to make sure each of our electrical and telecommunications apprentices brings the highest level of skill, attitude and knowledge to the jobsite," he added.

In addition, Milazzo has achieved certification and licensure as an electrical contractor, construction official, electrical sub-code official, electrical inspector HHS, teacher of vocational subjects and an instructor for both the N.J. Department of Community Affairs and N.J. Division of Consumer Affairs. His professional affiliations include membership in the National Electrical Training Directors Association, where he served as chairman on behalf of the United States and Canada.

He also served as a member of the National Educational Advisory Committee for the National Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee--electrical industry.