Berk Trade and Business School


Berk Trade and Business School, founded in 1940, is one of the oldest trade and vocational schools in New York City. The school's founder, Irving Berk, was committed to trade and vocational education. The school develops entry-level skills for the building trades, specifically plumbing, electrical installation and building maintenance.
The Electrical Installation program includes electrical theory and codes; reading of blueprints and schematics; low voltage bell and intercom systems; 120 to 240 Volt single-phase and three-phase systems; pipe bending; service work Graduates of the 600-hour, -month accredited electrical program receive credits towards their Master Electrician's License.
The Comprehensive Plumbing program includes soldering, threading, and running of pipes; installation of vanity kitchen and bathroom fixtures; isometric drawings; blueprint reading and codes; boiler and water heater installation, etc.
A Building Maintenance program is not currently offered by the school.
Originally, the school was one of the first trade schools to teach plumbing installation in the country. Mr. Irving Berk was a plumber by trade and later decided to add electrical installation to the school's curriculum. The school also taught other trades, such as nursing and phlebotomy at three different branches before it returned to its original buildings trades model.