An electrician apprenticeship is a paid job with training, and you don't need experience to start one. Louisiana has 19 registered electrician apprenticeship programs, with 1,749 apprentices in training at the latest federal count.
About $640 a week at 40 hours. The middle half of starting wages is $14.71 to $17.93 an hour.
Median pay at the end
$28.00 an hour
About $1,120 a week at 40 hours.
From 1,536 recent starting wages in 15 programs, and 747 people who finished recently in 11 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.
No program matches. Pick another area or check the spelling.
Also trains other trades: these 3 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.
How one program works: Shreveport 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.
Shreveport Electrical JATC
Bossier City · Shreveport & North Louisiana · 209 apprentices
1
Apply in person
Fill out the application at the Shreveport Electrical JATC training center at 1013-B Gould Drive in Bossier City, Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm. You can also download the application and bring it back in person with your documents.
2
Take the aptitude test
You need a qualifying score on a national aptitude test. To practice for the math part, the Shreveport Electrical JATC suggests ElectricPrep's paid courses, Bossier Parish Community College's Open Campus or Khan Academy's free Algebra 1 course.
3
Interview with the committee
The oral interview is the most important part of applying to the Shreveport Electrical JATC, and most interviews take 10 to 20 minutes. The training committee looks at how clearly you communicate and how you have handled situations in the past.
4
Work and attend night classes
If the committee selects you, the Shreveport Electrical JATC assigns you to one of its electrical contractors, and you work during the day. Classes meet on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 5 pm for 2.5 hours, 9 months a year.
You pay the $25 fee in cash, by check or by money order when you arrive for your aptitude test. Once the Shreveport Electrical JATC accepts you, you buy your textbooks and pay the online course fees at the start of each school year. Books and fees usually cost $800 to $1,000 a year.
A semester of tuition at ABC New Orleans/Bayou
$700
ABC New Orleans/Bayou is the third-largest sponsor on the list, and its count includes the other trades it trains. A semester of tuition is $700 if you work for a member company and $1,100 if you don't. You also pay $100 to register, $375 for books and materials and a $25 testing fee each semester.
The ExxonMobil Apprenticeship Program in Baton Rouge is the largest program on the list. ExxonMobil offers 6-month internships in Baton Rouge that could lead to a full-time job through an apprenticeship. To apply, look for openings on the ExxonMobil careers site.
At ABC New Orleans/Bayou, you must work for a member company to become a registered apprentice. Its electrical classes take 2 years and meet 2 nights a week from 6 pm to 9 pm, for 16 weeks each semester. As an apprentice, you also complete 2,000 hours on the job each year.
The Apprenticeship Division at Louisiana Works oversees registered apprenticeship programs in Louisiana. You apply to each program, and the program sends your apprenticeship agreement to the Apprenticeship Division for approval.
To apply to the Shreveport Electrical JATC, you must be at least 18 years old. You need a high school diploma or GED, and you must have passed 1 year of algebra. Bring these documents when you apply.
your birth certificate
your Social Security card
your driver's license
your high school transcript
your high school diploma or GED certificate
proof that you passed 1 year of algebra
your DD-214, if you're a veteran
Your pay as a Shreveport Electrical JATC apprentice is a percentage of the journeyman wage. The electricians' union (IBEW Local 194) and the North Louisiana Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) sponsor the program and agree on the journeyman wage in their contract. The percentage rises as you advance, and you earn the journeyman wage once you graduate.
Note: If the Shreveport Electrical JATC selects you, you may need a physical exam, a drug test and a background check before you start. You must also be able to get to job sites anywhere in the area the program covers.
Louisiana has no statewide electrician license. Cities and parishes such as New Orleans, Lake Charles and Shreveport issue their own licenses and set their own rules. However, if you work for an electrical contractor licensed by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors (LSLBC), a city or parish can't require its own exam or certification for you to work for that contractor.
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
Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors license types page, lslbc.gov, and Louisiana Revised Statutes 37:2156.1: the contractor licenses and the limit on city and parish exams for employees of state-licensed electrical contractors
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