Sign inJoin the list
  1. Home
  2. Electrician
  3. Illinois
  4. Apprenticeships

Electrician apprenticeships in Illinois

An electrician apprenticeship is a paid job with training, and you don't need experience to start one. Illinois has 76 registered electrician apprenticeship programs, with 5,200 apprentices in training at the latest federal count.

Looking for plumbing? See the 36 plumber programs

Median pay when you start

$21.52 an hour

About $860 a week at 40 hours. The middle half of starting wages is $20.00 to $23.10 an hour.

Median pay at the end

$51.00 an hour

About $2,040 a week at 40 hours.

From 4,446 recent starting wages in 58 programs, and 2,831 people who finished recently in 43 programs. The 2 figures come from different groups of apprentices, not the same people followed from start to finish.

How to get in

  1. Pick 2 or 3 programs near you

    Use the list below. Search each program's name with its city to find it.

    See the programs

  2. Ask each one how to apply

    Each program takes applications in its own way. Ask each program how and when it takes applications.

    IBEW Local 134 registers applicants in person on Wednesdays from 9 am to 11 am at the school in Alsip. This round of registration runs through February 2027, for the March 2027 test and the classes that start in July and October 2027. Check the schedule at ejatt.com before you go.

    EJATT registration information and FAQ

Find a program near you

All 76 registered programs, grouped by who runs them, with the most apprentices first. The 9 programs inside prisons are at the end.

67 programs

Sort by

Union programs (JATC)

20 programs · 3,749 apprentices

A Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC) is the electricians' union and participating contractors working together.

Contractor associations

8 programs · 19 apprentices

Each of these programs carries the name of a contractor association: Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).

Companies, schools and other programs

39 programs · 1,010 apprentices

Many smaller programs are companies that train their own employees.

Companies, schools and other programs
ProgramCityApprentices
Assoc. Builders & Contractors Inc (search the web)Also trains other tradesElk Grove VillageChicago area237 apprentices
Abt Electronics (search the web)Also trains other tradesGlenviewChicago area204 apprentices
Midstate Electrical Training Center (search the web)DecaturDownstate167 apprentices
Battaglia Industries Inc. (search the web)ElginChicago area62 apprentices
MKD Electric, Inc. (search the web)ElginChicago area58 apprentices
D&D Electric, LLC (search the web)HarrisburgDownstate42 apprentices
Alton-Wood River Electricians (search the web)AltonDownstate39 apprentices
New Energy Structures Company (search the web)SpringfieldDownstate26 apprentices
Millennium Solar Electric Training Academy (search the web)Calumet CityChicago area21 apprentices
Education Design Development and Research Corporation (search the web)Also trains other tradesChicagoChicago area16 apprentices
Southwestern Illinois College (search the web)MaintenanceBellevilleDownstate16 apprentices
Trapp Electric (search the web)WashingtonDownstate15 apprentices
Raynor Garage Doors (search the web)DixonDownstate12 apprentices
Guardian West Flex-N-Gate (search the web)UrbanaDownstate11 apprentices
Industry Consortium for Advanced Technical Training (search the web)MaintenanceChicagoChicago area10 apprentices
3Q Services Pro LLC (search the web)ChicagoChicago area8 apprentices
3M Cordova (search the web)CordovaDownstate7 apprentices
Eco Energy Services (search the web)Homer GlenChicago area7 apprentices
DRiV, Skokie (search the web)SkokieChicago area6 apprentices
Marquis Energy - Illinois, LLC (search the web)HennepinDownstate6 apprentices
Minority Contractors Collaboration (search the web)PeoriaDownstate6 apprentices
Starcon (search the web)New LenoxChicago area6 apprentices
B-K Electric, Inc. (search the web)GriggsvilleDownstate4 apprentices
Climco Coils, Inc. (search the web)MorrisonDownstate4 apprentices
Goldstar, Inc. (search the web)CaryChicago area4 apprentices
Bunge Milling, Inc. (search the web)DanvilleDownstate3 apprentices
Richards Electric Motor Company (search the web)QuincyDownstate3 apprentices
Castillo Electric Inc (search the web)DoltonChicago area2 apprentices
KDJ Sales & Service, Inc. (search the web)MackinawDownstate2 apprentices
Resmund Corporation (search the web)ElginChicago area2 apprentices
Adkins Energy LLC (search the web)LenaDownstate1 apprentices
SRU Electric LLC (search the web)CaryChicago area1 apprentices
Verstraete Electric (search the web)AtkinsonDownstate1 apprentices
W. L. Miller Company (search the web)HamiltonDownstate1 apprentices
A-Current LLC (search the web)ChicagoChicago area0 apprentices
Bear Down Community Investment Group (search the web)Also trains other tradesChicagoChicago area0 apprentices
DJR Remodel (Penn Foster) (search the web)Taylor RidgeDownstate0 apprentices
Lights of Zion Training Institute (search the web)ChicagoChicago area0 apprentices
MRC-W Career Institute (search the web)Also trains other tradesBurnhamChicago area0 apprentices

Also trains other trades: these 16 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.

Programs inside prisons

Illinois Correctional Industries runs 9 of the 76 programs inside state prisons, and these programs train people who are incarcerated there. You can't apply to these programs from outside, and the wage figures don't include them.

  • ICI - Menard Correctional CenterMenard88 apprentices
  • ICI - Hill Correctional CenterGalesburg80 apprentices
  • ICI - Graham Correctional CenterHillsboro62 apprentices
  • ICI - Vandalia Correctional CenterVandalia41 apprentices
  • ICI - Centralia Correctional CenterCentralia38 apprentices
  • ICI - Illinois River Correctional CenterCanton38 apprentices
  • ICI - East Moline Correctional CenterEast Moline35 apprentices
  • Graham Correctional CenterHillsboro34 apprentices
  • ICI - Western Illinois Correctional CenterMt. Sterling6 apprentices

How one program works: IBEW Local 134

Each program runs in its own way. This is how one of them takes apprentices and trains them, as its own pages describe it.

IBEW Local 134

  1. 1

    Register in person

    Bring your documents and the $50 registration fee to the school in Alsip. IBEW Local 134 gives you an application to complete.

  2. 2

    Take the aptitude test

    Return your completed application. IBEW Local 134 gives you a study guide and a test date.

  3. 3

    Get your results

    IBEW Local 134 emails your results within 8 weeks of the test. If IBEW Local 134 selects you, you take a physical, a drug screen and a background check.

  4. 4

    Start school, then work

    You attend 11 weeks of full-time class. IBEW Local 134 then assigns you to one of about 600 union contractors.

EJATT registration information and FAQ

More from the programs

Of the journeyman rate at IBEW Local 134, the largest program

40% to 90%

The IBEW Local 134 apprenticeship starts with 11 weeks of full-time class without pay. Your first job then pays 40% of the journeyman electrician rate ($25.26 an hour), and your pay rises in steps to 90% ($56.84 an hour). IBEW Local 134 says these rates can change.

An hour on public works jobs in Cook County

$63.15

The Illinois Department of Labor sets this rate for electricians on public works jobs in Cook County. The rate covers one county and one kind of work, so it isn't a starting wage. The rate is based on the union wage scale.

To apply to IBEW Local 134, the largest program, you must be at least 17 years old when you register. You need a high school diploma or GED, and 1 year of high school algebra with a grade of C or better. IBEW Local 134 selects apprentices by an aptitude test and an experience form, and you don't need an employer to sponsor you.

Note: A GED math certificate doesn't count as the year of algebra. An online tech-math certificate from skillsprep.org does count.

The IBEW Local 134 apprenticeship takes 5 years. An industry scholarship loan covers your schooling, and you pay off the loan by working for IBEW Local 134 contractors. You pay a $50 registration fee, a $500 processing fee if IBEW Local 134 selects you, and a one-time administrative fee that is set when school begins.

EJATT Electrical Apprenticeship Program sheet, June 2026 edition Illinois Department of Labor prevailing wage, Cook County

Check the license rules where you work

Illinois has no statewide electrician license. Cities and counties issue their own licenses and set their own rules, so the rules change from one city to the next. Check the rules in the city or county where you plan to work.

See how electrician licensing works in Illinois

Sources

  1. 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
  2. Illinois Department of Labor, prevailing wage rates for Cook County, posted August 15, 2026, labor.illinois.gov: the rate for public works jobs in Cook County
  3. EJATT Electrical Apprenticeship Program sheet, June 2026 edition, and EJATT registration information and FAQ: the wage scale, the 11 weeks of class without pay, the fees, the requirements and the registration schedule at IBEW Local 134

The U.S. Department of Labor data has 20 Illinois filings whose registration numbers name a different state. No figure counts those filings. Every bar uses the same scale.

Get an email when it matters

Pick what you want to hear about. You get one short email when it happens.

Alerts for: Electrician in Illinois

Email me when

One email when it happens. Nothing else, and you can unsubscribe any time. You must be 13 or older. Under 18, a parent or guardian must agree to the terms for you.