An electrician apprenticeship is a paid job with training, and you don't need experience to start one. Pennsylvania has 183 registered electrician apprenticeship programs, with 3,739 apprentices in training at the latest federal count.
About $720 a week at 40 hours. The middle half of starting wages is $16.00 to $19.73 an hour.
Median pay at the end
$39.81 an hour
About $1,590 a week at 40 hours.
From 3,567 recent starting wages in 69 programs, and 2,588 people who finished recently in 66 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 are closed at the Western Pennsylvania Electrical JATC for the 2026-2027 school year, and the committee says it will post dates for 2027-2028 on its website. Enrollment at ABC Keystone is also closed, and ABC Keystone directs applicants to the 2027-2028 year. Check both sites for the opening dates.
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: these 15 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: Western Pennsylvania 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.
Western Pennsylvania Electrical JATC
1
Apply on the online portal
Request your portal account early, because account requests take about 3 business days. Pay the $25 processing fee with your application.
2
Take the tests and interview
Take the tests the committee gives or arranges. If you're a high school senior, you can test at 17, but you interview once you're 18.
3
Complete the screening
If the committee offers you an apprenticeship, you take a physical, a substance test and a color-blindness test with a doctor the committee selects. The committee also runs a background check with your consent.
4
Work and attend night classes
You work days and attend night classes in Pittsburgh or Clearfield for 5 years. When you complete the program, you receive an Electrical Construction Technology Certificate.
To apply at the Western Pennsylvania Electrical JATC, the largest program
$25
The Western Pennsylvania Electrical JATC in Pittsburgh charges a $25 processing fee to apply, and the fee isn't refunded. If the committee offers you an apprenticeship, it pays for your physical, your drug test, a color-blindness test and your background check. The committee says tuition comes at little to no cost to the apprentice.
To apply at ABC Keystone, the second-largest sponsor
$125
ABC Keystone is a contractor association, and you can apply without a job in the trade. The $125 application fee isn't refunded, and ABC Keystone works to connect you with member companies for a job. If you score 80% on the math entrance exam, you skip the construction math class.
To apply to the Western Pennsylvania Electrical JATC, you must be 18 years old. If you're a high school senior, you can apply and take the entrance test at 17. You need these things to apply.
a high school diploma or GED
credit for 1 algebra course
a Pennsylvania driver's license, which you keep for the whole apprenticeship
at least 1 year of residency in one of the 22 western and central Pennsylvania counties the program serves
The Western Pennsylvania Electrical JATC apprenticeship takes 5 years. You work days and attend night classes, usually 1 or 2 nights a week, at the training centers in Pittsburgh and Clearfield. Your classes count toward an associate degree at the Community College of Allegheny County.
Note: The Western Pennsylvania Electrical JATC asks applicants not to call the office about applications.
Pennsylvania 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.
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
The U.S. Department of Labor data has 31 Pennsylvania filings whose registration numbers name a different state. No figure counts those filings. Every bar uses the same scale.
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