An electrician apprenticeship is a paid job with training, and you don't need experience to start one. In Kentucky, you don't need an apprentice license, but you work under a licensed electrician or master electrician who is on the site. Kentucky has 43 registered electrician apprenticeship programs, with 1,831 apprentices in training at the latest federal count.
About $640 a week at 40 hours. The middle half of starting wages is $14.94 to $18.94 an hour.
Median pay at the end
$33.30 an hour
About $1,330 a week at 40 hours.
From 2,082 recent starting wages in 35 programs, and 1,070 people who finished recently in 25 programs. The 2 figures come from different groups of apprentices, not the same people followed from start to finish.
Note: The Louisville Electrical JATC accounts for 40.6% of the recent starting wages behind the median starting wage, so its apprentices make up a large part of that figure.
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 Louisville Electrical JATC are closed. The JATC opens online applications at different times during the year and posts each application notice on loujatc.com.
Each of these programs carries the name of a contractor association: Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC) or Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC).
No program matches. Pick another area or check the spelling.
Also trains other trades: this sponsor trains more than one trade, so its count includes apprentices in its 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.
How one program works: Louisville 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.
Louisville Electrical JATC
1
Apply online
When applications are open, pay the $55 processing fee by debit or credit card and fill out the online application. Within 21 days of starting it, upload your high school transcript or GED scores and your driver's license to the application portal.
2
Complete the Personal Experience Form
If you meet the minimum qualifications, GAN Human Resources emails you the Personal Experience Form (PEF), which asks about your background and experience. You have 2 weeks to complete it, so gather your transcripts, proof of your work hours, pre-apprenticeship certificates and up to 3 letters of recommendation first.
3
Take the aptitude test
Once you send the PEF, the JATC schedules you for the aptitude test, which takes about 2.5 hours. You can order a study guide from GAN Human Resources. The JATC sends every message by email, so check your spam folder too.
4
Interview and join the ranked list
If your test score qualifies, you have a 10- to 15-minute interview with a panel from IBEW Local 369, the NECA-IBEW Electrical Training Center and NECA. Your score then stays on the ranked list for 1 year, and the JATC places apprentices with its contractors from the top of the list as jobs open.
An hour to start at the Louisville Electrical JATC
$22.13
The Louisville Electrical JATC is the largest program on the list. You currently start at $22.13 an hour, which is 50% of the $44.26 journeyman wireman rate, and your pay rises through 6 periods to 70%. Benefits are paid on top of these wages, and you earn the full journeyman scale once you complete the apprenticeship.
A year of tuition and fees in the Enzweiler Building Institute electric program
$3,750
The Enzweiler Building Institute in Erlanger is the school of the Building Industry Association of Northern Kentucky, and its count includes the other trades it trains. Its electric program has 576 classroom hours over 4 years, with classes 2 nights a week from 6 to 9 pm for 26 weeks a year. The $3,750 includes $3,000 in tuition plus materials, books and OSHA-10 and CPR training.
The Louisville Electrical JATC is the largest program on the list. IBEW Local Union 369 and the Louisville Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) formed the JATC.
To train with IEC of the Bluegrass, you need a job with one of its contractor members. If you pass IEC's 65-question aptitude test at an appointment, IEC shares your information with the members looking for apprentices. Once a member hires you, you may be enrolled in the apprenticeship, and in most cases your employer pays your tuition.
The IEC of the Bluegrass apprenticeship takes 4 years. Each year, you complete about 2,000 hours on the job and 144 classroom hours, and classes are normally in the evening.
The Kentucky Career Center's Office of Employer and Apprenticeship Services approves registered apprenticeship programs in Kentucky. The state's Kentucky Works site has a map of Kentucky's registered apprenticeship sponsors.
To open an application at the Louisville Electrical JATC, you must be at least 17 years old. To be accepted into the program, you must be at least 18 years old, and you need these qualifications.
a high school diploma or GED
1 full credit of high school algebra or a higher math course, with a grade of C or better
a valid driver's license
If you have a felony conviction, you can still apply. However, a felony may keep you from some jobs, such as work at schools or government buildings.
If you have electrical work experience or trade school training, send your documents with your application. The JATC reviews your experience and may give you credit toward your apprenticeship.
As a Louisville Electrical JATC apprentice, you work full time, all year. You also attend class 1 day every other week for 8 hours, from August to June. The JATC has training facilities in Louisville, Lexington and Bowling Green.
The Louisville Electrical JATC currently charges no tuition. You pay for your school supplies, computer, work clothes, boots and tools. Once you complete the apprenticeship and some general education classes, you can earn an associate degree from Ivy Tech.
Note: As a Louisville Electrical JATC apprentice, you may be sent to work anywhere in the JATC's area, which includes counties in Kentucky and southern Indiana.
To work as an electrician in Kentucky, you need your own license from the Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction (DHBC), and the state license replaces any city or county electrician license. As an apprentice, you don't need a license, but you work under a licensed electrician or master electrician who is on the site. To qualify for the electrician license, you need 8,000 hours of work in the electrical trade, and you must pass the journeyman electrician exam. A registered apprenticeship can count for 4,000 of those hours.
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
Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, Kentucky Registered Apprenticeship Programs, elc.ky.gov, and Kentucky Works, Registered Apprenticeships: who approves apprenticeship programs in Kentucky and the sponsor map
KRS 227A.010, 227A.020 and 227A.060 and 815 KAR 35:060 and 35:090, apps.legislature.ky.gov, and the Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction electrical license application checklist: the electrician license, the 8,000 hours, the credit for a registered apprenticeship, the supervision rule for apprentices and the end of city and county electrician licenses
The U.S. Department of Labor data has 7 Kentucky filings whose registration numbers name a different state. No figure counts those filings. Every bar uses the same scale.
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