An electrician apprenticeship is a paid job with training, and you don't need experience to start one. Georgia has 41 registered electrician apprenticeship programs, with 5,235 apprentices in training at the latest federal count.
About $640 a week at 40 hours. The middle half of starting wages is $15.00 to $18.00 an hour.
Median pay at the end
$28.14 an hour
About $1,130 a week at 40 hours.
From 5,491 recent starting wages in 27 programs, and 2,322 people who finished recently in 21 programs. The 2 figures come from different groups of apprentices, not the same people followed from start to finish.
How to get in
Pick 2 or 3 programs near you
Use the list below. Search each program's name with its city to find it.
Each program takes applications in its own way. Ask each program how and when it takes applications.
Applications at the Atlanta Electrical JATC are closed, and the committee says they reopen in 2027 for classes that start in fall 2027. The CSRA Electrical JATC in Augusta takes applications in person on weekdays from January 4 to June 2, 2027. Ace Electric in Valdosta trains its own employees and enrolls them until October 31, 2026.
No program matches. Pick another area or check the spelling.
Also trains other trades: these 4 sponsors train more than one trade, so their count includes apprentices in their other trades.A count of 0 means the federal data recorded no apprentices in training, and it doesn't always mean the program has closed.Maintenance: the federal data marks these programs as training maintenance electricians.
How one program works: Atlanta Electrical JATC
Each program runs in its own way. This is how one of them takes apprentices and trains them, as its own pages describe it.
Atlanta Electrical JATC
1
Apply online
The Atlanta Electrical JATC takes applications through an online account once a year, for about 2 months. Upload your documents and pay the $23 processing fee for each program and the $23 aptitude test fee.
2
Pass the aptitude test
After you pass the test, you can ask to go on the waiting list for a work assignment with one of the committee's contractors. An application for admission doesn't guarantee a job.
3
Work and attend class
In year 1, you attend class 1 day every other week from 7 am to 3 pm, partly in person and partly online. You complete 720 classroom hours over 4 years, in 2 semesters a year.
4
Complete 8,000 hours on the job
The apprenticeship is at least 8,000 hours of training on the job. For each raise, you need the hours, class attendance and a book account that is paid in full. When you finish, you receive the journey-level electrician certification from the U.S. Department of Labor and the Electrical Training Alliance.
The Atlanta Electrical JATC is the largest program in Georgia. First-year apprentices start at $18.00 an hour and get a raise every 1,600 hours of work, up to $30.00 an hour at the top step. The rate for graduates is $40.00 an hour.
An hour to start at the Savannah Electrical Training Alliance
$18.34
The Savannah Electrical Training Alliance starts apprentices at $18.34 an hour. Its wage schedule then rises from 55% to 85% of the journeyman rate, which is $19.25 to $29.75 an hour. The same percentage gives a different dollar amount at each program, because each program uses its own journeyman rate.
You don't need experience to apply. Your apprenticeship sponsor registers your apprenticeship with the U.S. Department of Labor, so you don't file that registration yourself.
To apply to the Atlanta Electrical JATC, you pay $46 in application and testing fees. If you're a veteran, the committee waives the processing fee when you show a DD-214. You need these documents to apply, and the committee doesn't accept an incomplete application.
a high school diploma or GED
a photo ID
a birth certificate or passport
proof that you live in the union's area
Every applicant takes an aptitude test in math, algebra and reading comprehension. The passing score is 5 out of 9 points.
The Atlanta Electrical JATC charges no tuition. A scholarship that all the contractors pay into covers tuition and class fees. You pay for books, which cost about $436 to $621 a year and are due 6 weeks before the first semester of each year.
Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) runs 1 apprenticeship across Georgia through 2 chapters. One chapter covers 19 metro Atlanta counties, and the other chapter covers the rest of Georgia. Classes start all year, online and in these cities.
Kennesaw
Union City
Conyers
Augusta
Macon
Columbus
Savannah
The IEC program starts with your employer. Tuition is $1,495 a year plus books, and IEC bills your employer. IEC refers applicants to member contractors, but it doesn't guarantee a job.
Note: You can take the IEC classes without a member employer, but IEC says you aren't registered as an apprentice. You earn the 576 classroom hours only, and not the 8,000 hours on the job that you need for the journeyworker certificate.
The Savannah Electrical Training Alliance hands out and accepts applications on Wednesdays only. The Macon Electrical JATC takes applications on any weekday, and you bring your documents and $30.
You don't need a state license to start in Georgia
Georgia doesn't issue a state license to an individual electrician. The Georgia State Board of Electrical Contractors licenses electrical contractors, through the Class I and Class II licenses. Cities can still set their own license rules, so check the rules in the city where you plan to work.
U.S. Department of Labor national apprenticeship data, extract of August 17, 2026: the programs, the apprentice counts, the 2 median wages and the range of starting wages
Atlanta Electrical JATC application, requirements and calendar pages and its pay rate and book cost sheets: the $46 fees, the passing score of 5 out of 9, the $18.00 to $40.00 pay steps on the sheet updated July 8, 2026, the book costs on the sheet updated January 30, 2026, the hours and the 2027 reopening
The U.S. Department of Labor data has 12 Georgia filings whose registration numbers name a different state. No figure counts those filings. Every bar uses the same scale.
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