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Plumber apprenticeships in Arizona

A plumber apprenticeship is a paid job with training, and you don't need experience to start one. Arizona has 18 registered plumber apprenticeship programs, with 1,574 apprentices in training at the latest federal count.

Looking for electrical work? See the 47 electrician programs

Median pay when you start

$21.41 an hour

About $860 a week at 40 hours. The middle half of starting wages is $20.57 to $23.70 an hour.

From 486 recent starting wages in 11 programs.

The median starting wage is $21.41 an hour. This figure comes from starting wages at different programs, so it isn't one program's wage scale.

Note: The Arizona Pipe Trades apprenticeship in Phoenix accounts for 85.0% of the wage records behind this figure, so the figure mostly describes its apprentices.

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.

    The Arizona Pipe Trades apprenticeship takes applications when it needs apprentices and announces each round on the front page of pipetrades.org. When applications are closed, you can join the waitlist, and the committee emails you when a round opens. Tohono O'odham Community College enrolls accepted applicants in August and January.

    Arizona Pipe Trades apprenticeship FAQ

Find a program near you

All 18 registered programs, grouped by who runs them, with the most apprentices first.

18 programs

Sort by

Union programs (JAC and JATC)

2 programs · 1,227 apprentices

A Joint Apprenticeship Committee (JAC or JATC) is the union and participating contractors working together.

Companies, schools and other programs

16 programs · 347 apprentices

Companies, schools and other sponsors run these programs.

Companies, schools and other programs
ProgramCityApprentices
Arizona Chapter, Associated General Contractors of America Inc., Apprenticeship Trust Fund (search the web)Also trains other tradesPhoenixPhoenix & the Valley78 apprentices
Tohono O'odham Community College (search the web)Also trains other tradesSellsTucson & Southern Arizona56 apprentices
Sun Mechanical Contracting, Inc. (search the web)TucsonTucson & Southern Arizona43 apprentices
Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (search the web)Also trains other tradesScottsdalePhoenix & the Valley36 apprentices
East Valley Institute of Technology (search the web)Also trains other tradesMesaPhoenix & the Valley35 apprentices
Interplay Learning, Inc. (search the web)PhoenixPhoenix & the Valley18 apprentices
Pima Community College (search the web)Also trains other tradesTucsonTucson & Southern Arizona18 apprentices
Quantum Industrial Services (search the web)MesaPhoenix & the Valley15 apprentices
Air Control Air Conditioning, Inc. (search the web)Also trains other tradesLake Havasu CityNorthern & Western Arizona13 apprentices
Interstate Mechanical, LLC (search the web)PhoenixPhoenix & the Valley11 apprentices
RK Industries LLC (search the web)PhoenixPhoenix & the Valley9 apprentices
AWY Holdings, Inc. (search the web)ChandlerPhoenix & the Valley8 apprentices
Karber Corporation (search the web)PhoenixPhoenix & the Valley6 apprentices
Kooline Plumbing Heating & Air LLC (search the web)MaricopaEverywhere else1 apprentices
Thompson Family Plumbing & Drain, LLC (search the web)Lake Havasu CityNorthern & Western Arizona0 apprentices
University of Arizona (search the web)Also trains other tradesTucsonTucson & Southern Arizona0 apprentices

Also trains other trades: these 7 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: Arizona Pipe Trades

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

Arizona Pipe Trades

  1. 1

    Join the waitlist

    Fill in the waitlist form with your name, date of birth and contact details, and say whether you have a diploma or GED and whether you're a veteran. When the committee opens a round, it emails you instructions and a link to the application.

  2. 2

    Take the aptitude test and interview

    Take the aptitude test in person. The test has personality, logic and mechanical questions, and the program has no study guide for the test. An interview follows, and you can discuss your earlier experience there.

  3. 3

    Complete your probationary year

    Your first 12 months after you sign the apprentice agreement are probationary. You must be available for work at least 1,600 hours a year, and the union sends apprentices to jobs in the order they joined the out-of-work list. If you turn down 2 work calls within 12 months, you move to the bottom of the out-of-work list.

  4. 4

    Complete 5 years of work and classes

    You move up at 1,700, 3,400, 5,100 and 6,800 total hours, each with a passing grade and a satisfactory evaluation. To finish, you need 1,200 hours of classroom instruction and a score of 75% or better on the journeyman turnout exam. You pay tuition each semester and a book fee.

Arizona Pipe Trades apprenticeship fact sheet Arizona Pipe Trades rules and regulations

More from the programs

An hour to start at the Arizona Pipe Trades apprenticeship

$26.43

First-year apprentices at the Arizona Pipe Trades apprenticeship in Phoenix earn $26.43 an hour, and the yearly steps rise to $39.89 in year 5. The journeyman rate is $53.85 an hour on commercial work and $59.60 an hour on industrial work. Each raise also depends on your hours on the job, and the first raise comes at 1,700 hours.

What Sun Mechanical says its training is worth

$30,000

Sun Mechanical is a mechanical contractor in Tucson that runs its own registered program, and you join by being hired. The company compares its 4-year apprenticeship to a $30,000 full-ride scholarship and pays you for classroom time and job time. The company says apprentices who finish can be certified as journeyman plumbers.

You don't need experience to apply. Most plumber training in Arizona runs through the Arizona Pipe Trades apprenticeship, a union program in plumbing and pipefitting in Phoenix that takes 5 years.

To apply to the Arizona Pipe Trades apprenticeship, you must be at least 18 years old. You need a diploma or GED and 2 forms of identification, one with a picture. If you already have experience, the program prefers that you complete the full apprenticeship.

Note: The Arizona Pipe Trades apprenticeship requires a City of Phoenix license before you can finish.

You can start at a school without an employer. At the East Valley Institute of Technology in Mesa, you complete a 360-hour pre-apprenticeship certificate first, and the coordinators then guide you through the apprenticeship application. At Tohono O'odham Community College in Sells, the program runs all year, full-time apprentices get a monthly stipend, and accepted applicants enroll in August or January.

Arizona Pipe Trades wage and fringe rate sheet Sun Mechanical apprenticeship page East Valley Institute of Technology apprenticeships page

Check the license rules in your city

Arizona doesn't issue a state license to an individual plumber, and state law exempts anyone who works for wages. Inside the City of Phoenix, a licensed journeyman or apprentice must do permitted plumbing work. Check the rules in the city where you plan to work.

See how plumber licensing works in Arizona

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Labor national apprenticeship data, extract of August 17, 2026: the programs, the apprentice counts, the median starting wage and the range of starting wages
  2. Arizona Pipe Trades apprenticeship fact sheet, FAQ, and rules and regulations: the waitlist, the aptitude test, the hour steps, the classroom hours, the requirements to finish and the tuition
  3. Arizona Pipe Trades wage and fringe rate sheet and the Local 469 working agreement: the $26.43 to $39.89 pay steps, the $53.85 and $59.60 journeyman rates and the rules for work calls
  4. Sun Mechanical apprenticeship page: the $30,000 comparison and the 4-year company program
  5. East Valley Institute of Technology apprenticeship and plumbing program pages: the pre-apprenticeship requirement and its 360 hours
  6. Tohono O'odham Community College apprenticeship page: the year-round program, the stipend and the August and January enrollment
  7. Arizona Revised Statutes sections 32-1121 and 32-1122, azleg.gov, and the Arizona Registrar of Contractors apprenticeship and license classification pages: the state licensing rules
  8. City of Phoenix journeyman and apprentice licensing page: the City of Phoenix license rules

The U.S. Department of Labor data has 4 Arizona filings whose registration numbers name a different state. No figure counts those filings. Every bar uses the same scale.

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