Answer extracted from the Forum Focus podcast — listen to the full episode below.
How can high schools embed electrical trade math into standard mathematics to boost apprenticeship qualification rates?
IBEW and NECA are embedding electrical trade math curriculum alongside standard high school mathematics, ensuring apprentices arrive with the required math skills already in place to succeed in apprenticeship programs. This partnership reduces failure rates in the apprenticeship math portion by preparing students during their high school years, rather than waiting until they enter the trade. They have identified pilot schools and are actively developing the implementation strategy with school districts and Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
A partnership designed to close the math readiness gap
The challenge is straightforward: many apprenticeship applicants lack the mathematical foundation needed to pass the apprenticeship math requirement, and this gap disproportionately affects young people from underserved communities. By embedding electrical trade math into the high school curriculum, as explained in the Forum Focus episode, IBEW and NECA aim to front-load this preparation.
Rather than treating math as an abstract subject, the strategy weaves real electrical problems and applications into standard mathematics. Students learn trigonometry, algebra, and geometry through the lens of wiring, circuit design, and load calculations—skills electricians actually use on the job. This approach keeps the rigor of high school math while making it directly relevant to the trades.
Pilot schools and district collaboration
Taylor and his colleagues have identified a couple of pilot schools to test this curriculum model. The work is not done in isolation: they are in active conversation with school districts and DESE to align standards and ensure the program fits within existing educational frameworks.
The plan of attack is still being refined, which means this is an evolving partnership—not a one-size-fits-all mandate. The key insight embedded in this conversation with Taylor is that workforce development cannot be solved by unions alone; it requires genuine collaboration with secondary education institutions that have the access and authority to shape what millions of young people learn.
Sylvester Taylor — Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives for The Electrical Connection (a partnership between IBEW Local One and the National Electrical Contractors Association). Taylor has worked as an electrician with IBEW for 32 years and serves as Recording Secretary of IBEW Local One and co-founder and president of the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus. He was appointed to this newly created national position in March—the first of its kind jointly between IBEW and NECA—and brings decades of experience in mentoring young people from underserved communities into careers in the electrical trades.
For a deeper look at how IBEW and Taylor are addressing the broader barriers young people face in entering electrical apprenticeships, and how this curriculum initiative fits into a larger diversity and inclusion strategy, listen to the full Forum Focus episode.
See also
What specific barriers prevent young people, particularly those from underserved communities, from entering electrical apprenticeships?
Educational inequity—particularly lack of advanced math skills required for the trade—combined with insufficient access to transportation and limited awareness of apprenticeship pathways create substantial barriers for young people from underserved communities.
How does the practice of counting minority workers on individual projects versus actual workforce diversification differ?
Simply placing six minority workers on a single job to meet participation requirements solves an immediate compliance problem but does not create lasting, systemic workforce diversification or meaningful career pathways.
What does it mean to get minority communities into rooms that have been historically closed to organized labor in the construction trades?
Organized labor has historically excluded African-American participation, causing communities to close their doors in return. Opening these rooms means rebuilding trust and creating genuine inclusion within union structures and apprenticeship programs.
Key takeaways
- IBEW and NECA are embedding electrical trade math into high school mathematics curricula to prepare students for apprenticeship math requirements.
- The strategy addresses a critical gap: many apprenticeship applicants lack the foundational math skills needed to succeed in the trade.
- Pilot schools have been identified, and the partnership is collaborating with school districts and Missouri's Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to refine implementation.
- This curriculum model makes math education directly relevant to real electrical work, helping students understand abstract concepts through concrete trade applications.