Pile Drivers Apprentice Training Program, Carpenters Training Committee for Northern California

Organized Labor

Pile Drivers Apprentice Training Program, Carpenters Training Committee for Northern California
Pile driving is not a job for the faint of heart! Pile drivers secure large columns of wood or metal deep into the ground to support bridges, dams, and buildings. They work on land and on platforms out in the ocean a hundred feet above the water. Battling the elements is a big part of the job.

“One of the hardest things about the job is that they work over water,” explains Raul Poblete, the coordinator of the apprentice program. When working in the ocean or in a river, the pile drivers establish a perimeter by welding together sheets of steel piling to form a huge, water-tight container, or cofferdam. They then pump out the water to create an environment in which they can work to set up the foundation, pour concrete, or drive down pile. “It's amazing what they can do in an area where you wouldn't think they could do it,” Poblete states.

The pile drivers apprentice program is run by the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Training Committee for Northern California. Their center in Pleasanton trains pile drivers, carpenters and millwrights. Learning together helps encourage cooperation among the crafts, which they will need to work together on the job.