Shoreham Resident Completes Five-Year Electrician Apprenticeship Program

Shoreham resident Michael Ingemi was one of ten graduates who successfully completed a five-year electrical apprenticeship program with United Electrical Workers of America Local 363-A, the union representing electrical contractors across downstate New York.



Ingemi first developed an interest in the skilled trades after getting involved in a BOCES program while attending Shoreham-Wading River High School in Suffolk County. “I figured out pretty quickly that I’m not built to sit in an office all day, and electrical work seemed the most interesting to me,” Ingemi said.

As part of his apprenticeship, Ingemi has been employed by TAP Electric, an Islandia-based general contractor that has delivered critical infrastructure, public and private works projects across New York City and Long Island for over 55 years.

He has worked on a variety of infrastructure modernization projects, such as the $95 million Superstorm Sandy flood mitigation work at the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s (MTA) Coney Island Yard, as well as numerous transit accessibility improvement projects, helping to install elevator machine room equipment and lighting systems at some of the busiest stations in the system, including 14^th Street in Manhattan, and Sheepshead Bay and Kings Highway in Brooklyn.

“This apprenticeship program consistently produces talented, hard-working electricians, and Michael has proved to be no exception,” said Anthony McEntee, Director at TAP Electric. “We celebrate with him as he marks this important career milestone and look forward to his continued growth in the electrical trade.”

Participants in the no-cost apprenticeship program complete 10,000 hours of on-the-job training and classroom instruction out of the Building Trades Educational Benefit Fund’s facility in East New York, Brooklyn, learning the skills needed to fill a projected 1 million shortage of electricians.

Few pathways offer more job security than the electrical infrastructure economy. Union electrician apprentices in New York City now enter the workforce earning a salary and benefits package averaging approximately $132,000 annually. United Electrical Workers of America Local 363-A requires a high school diploma to get started and members receive full healthcare and build a pension from day one.

“Every day of the past five years, our apprentices made the choice to attend their jobs and their classes, and improve themselves one day at a time,” said Paul Iaccarino, Director of the Building Trades Educational Benefit Fund. “Now, with 10,000 hours under their belts, they have acquired skills that will prepare them for lifelong success. Congratulations to the class of 2026.”