Vantaggi
They will hire you if you have a pulse. Bonus points if you're an immigrant who will struggle to afford school and will likely stay as a pre-apprentice. There is a steady stream of underpaid work, and quite a few job sites, so you will at least be busy, and every now and then someone can bust through and get fair compensation. They also give you a cute employment/branded ppe package when you sign on. Also, other companies will respect if you've stayed on more than a year, because most recruiters and hiring managers know Alpine's reputation. On a genuine good note, individual foremen can be quite accommodating to your life, let you go to school, take appointments etc. If it weren't for the foreman and lead being decent humans being equally affected by poor management, I would have left sooner.
Svantaggi
This company has a reputation in Vancouver for being penny-pinchers. Lowest rates for a company this size. Not all sites may be the same, but it is not uncommon to hear about employees chasing managers for weeks for raises or sick days, lack of journeypeople relative to apprentices, overtime is often paid straight time, morale can be quite low on site, resources spread thin, reactionary management, and a general attitude of "quit if you don't like it". You're also told when you're hired on that you get 2 x 15 min. Paid breaks and 1 x 30 min unpaid lunch, but that is inaccurate.