Indian Mound Mall to house new Newark Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Program and Training Committee center

Amid the hustle and bustle of shoppers in the Indian Mound Mall in Heath, the Newark Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) is currently transforming a former Sears store into their new headquarters. Next spring, their new center will feature individual classrooms surrounded by a lab to provide hands-on training for students studying electrical work. 

The Newark Electrical JATC now has 19 different programs across the state of Ohio, and has been training electricians for the last 100 years. Traditionally, their program has been on the smaller side, with only 35 apprentices in 2015. Through continued growth, though, over the last 10 years, the number of apprentices has shot up to 800 in 2025. With the new facility, Newark Electrical said, the organization will be able to support up to 2,000 apprentices. 

Daryl Jones, special projects coordinator for Newark Electrical JATC explained that growth was inevitable as demands for electrical work apprentices have increased over the years. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of electricians is expected to grow 9% within the next decade, which is a faster increase than the average growth rate for all occupations. About 81,000 openings for electricians are offered each year on average. 

“Our contractors are asking for apprentices to fill the manpower calls on [electrical] jobs,” Jones said. “So we’ve just been growing exponentially and the Sears building was the largest space we could possibly find in the area.” 

Newark Electrical JATC currently resides in a building at 450 S 22nd Street in Heath that Jones and his team bought and remodeled in 2023. The program quickly outgrew that space and Jones said any locations they looked at before the Sears building were also too small. 

The former Sears site in Indian Mound Mall closed in 2019. The space is 6.5 times the size of the organization’s current facility, measuring at 92,000 square feet. “Two acres under a roof,” according to the architect working for Newark Electrical JATC. 

“It’ll give us plenty of room to spread our arms and be able to do more specialized training with more apprentices,” said Jones.

Newark Electrical JATC’s apprenticeship program aids the electrical workforce in a  couple of ways. 

There are 20 contractors that work under the program’s jurisdiction. The program trains recruits to become journeymen electricians so they can provide electrical manpower for counties like Licking, Coshocton, Guernsey, Knox, Muskingum, Perry and Tuscarawas. 

After being selected for a program, the recruits are placed on job sites with signatory contractors and they are able to make a great living wage while learning on the job. 

“Obviously, they’re building these sites and learning from skilled men and women who are teaching them about the daily tasks,” said Jones. “They’re on a training assignment but still getting hands-on experience with real-world scenarios.” 

Once every other week, the recruited members of the program also attend school at Newark Electrical JATC’s training facility. The recruits are receiving a college education, as the training facility is an adjunct site for Northwest State Community College. 

“We actually pay them $85 when they come to school prepared that one day every other week,” Jones said. “So they’re getting paid for college credits, and they get to have a job with a living wage and all those benefits at the same time.” 

Through their apprenticeship, the recruits are guaranteed increases in their payment. The first increase happens after 2,000 hours of work and then after 1,500 hours of work following that.  

“There are several ways to ensure people have a very successful career and one of those is to pursue a job in the skilled trades, and I think it’s exciting for people in our area to have access to a program like this,” said Heath Mayor Mark Johns, who has prioritized growth and development in the community throughout his tenure. 

One of the features of Newark Electrical JATC’s new facility that Jones is excited about  is the Twelve Clear Career Exploration Center. The center will offer educational experiences to elementary, middle and high schoolers. 

This will include workshops in basic electrical concepts and easy STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – projects for high school students and for elementary and middle schoolers. For high schoolers, the program is planning on building a simulated job site in the new facility to show what an electrician’s job is like. 

Newark Electrical JATC is moving out of their current facility in June 2026; they hope the new facility will be opened by then so they can continue having classes throughout the summer.

“I’m super excited,” said Jones. “We have the opportunity to not only influence our program but also revitalize the Indian Mound Mall.”

“I think the Newark Electrical JATC having acquired the Sears location is a win for the city, a win for the mall property, and a win for the program itself,” said Johns. 

Shaye Phillips writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.