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Plumber apprenticeships in Georgia

A plumber apprenticeship is a paid job with training, and you don't need experience to start one. Georgia has 16 registered plumber apprenticeship programs, with 1,253 apprentices in training at the latest federal count.

Looking for electrical work? See the 41 electrician programs

Median hourly starting wage at the Mechanical Trades Institute in Atlanta

$18.65 an hour

About $750 a week at 40 hours.

From 344 people who started recently at the Mechanical Trades Institute, the largest plumber program in Georgia.

The Mechanical Trades Institute, the union training school in Atlanta, accounts for 82.5% of the plumber wage records in Georgia. A statewide median would mostly describe that program, so the figures are for single programs instead.

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 Mechanical Trades Institute takes applications for its fall 2027 class from November 1, 2026, to April 30, 2027. UA Local 150 in Augusta takes applications in person on the application day it posts, and it says it will announce its next application day in 2027. UA Local 188 in Savannah accepts applications until July 1 every year, and UA Local 177 in Brunswick takes applications by phone all year.

    Mechanical Trades Institute applicant information page

Find a program near you

All 16 registered programs, grouped by who runs them, with the most apprentices first.

16 programs

Sort by

Union programs (JAC and JATC)

2 programs · 994 apprentices

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

Contractor associations

1 program · 36 apprentices

Each of these programs carries the name of a contractor association: Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors (PHCC).

Companies, schools and other programs

13 programs · 223 apprentices

Companies, schools and other sponsors run these programs.

Companies, schools and other programs
ProgramCityApprentices
Augusta Plumbers & Pipefitters (search the web)AugustaAugusta & the Coast60 apprentices
TCSG-Atlanta Technical College (search the web)Also trains other tradesAtlantaAtlanta & North Georgia43 apprentices
Brunswick Plum &Pip (search the web)BrunswickAugusta & the Coast27 apprentices
MetroPower, Inc. (search the web)Also trains other tradesAlbanyMacon & South Georgia27 apprentices
Gold Mech., Inc. (search the web)AugustaAugusta & the Coast21 apprentices
Plumbing & Mechanical Association Of GA (search the web)LawrencevilleAtlanta & North Georgia20 apprentices
Faith Open Door Community Center, Inc. (search the web)JonesboroAtlanta & North Georgia14 apprentices
Coleman Construction, Inc. (search the web)HarlemAugusta & the Coast5 apprentices
The H. A. Sack Co., Inc. and SCM, Inc. (search the web)StatesboroAugusta & the Coast4 apprentices
RQ Construction, LLC (search the web)Also trains other tradesSt MarysAugusta & the Coast2 apprentices
Copper Construction Company (search the web)Also trains other tradesVidaliaEverywhere else0 apprentices
Service Experts (search the web)PoolerAugusta & the Coast0 apprentices
Workforce Career Center (search the web)AtlantaAtlanta & North Georgia0 apprentices

Also trains other trades: these 4 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: Mechanical Trades Institute

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

Mechanical Trades Institute

  1. 1

    Pass the ACT WorkKeys assessment

    Take the applied mathematics and workplace documents sections at a testing location you choose, for $30 to $40 a section. Email your scores to the Mechanical Trades Institute. The school sends you the application link only if both scores meet the minimum.

  2. 2

    Apply and interview

    Send your application with the $60 fee, an official transcript that shows your graduation date, and 2 forms of identification. The plumbing program starts new apprentices in August and February, with interviews in June or July and in December or January. The board of trustees decides who is accepted, and if you miss your interview, the school cancels your application.

  3. 3

    Complete your probationary year

    Before you start, you must pass a drug test and attend an orientation. In your first year, you work under a journeyman during the day, attend classes, keep an average of at least 70 and have reliable transportation to anywhere in the local's area. Each year has at least 210 classroom hours and 1,700 hours on the job.

  4. 4

    Complete 5 years of work and classes

    The plumbing program takes 5 years, with 8,000 hours on the job and 1,200 classroom hours. The Mechanical Trades Institute says plumbers who finish leave with a Georgia journeyman plumber license, backflow certification, OSHA 30 safety training and medical gas certifications.

Mechanical Trades Institute applicant information page Mechanical Trades Institute plumbing program page

More from the programs

An hour to start at the Mechanical Trades Institute, in the federal data

$18.65

The Mechanical Trades Institute is the largest plumber program in Georgia. In the federal data, its recent plumber apprentices started at a median of $18.65 an hour. Its apprentices who finished recently left at a median of $39.13 an hour.

An hour to start on the Mechanical Trades Institute wage scale

$21.60

The Mechanical Trades Institute pays $21.60 an hour in year 1, and the rate rises every 1,700 hours to $34.60 an hour in year 5. The journeyman rate is $43.23 an hour, and tuition is free. The wage scale is higher than the federal medians because the scale shows this year's rates and the federal data covers several years of starts.

An hour, the journeyman rate at UA Local 188 in Savannah

$35.45

Apprentices at UA Local 188 in Savannah earn a percentage of the $35.45 journeyman rate. In its most recently published agreement year, the steps go from $17.73 an hour in year 1 to $28.36 an hour in year 5. The journeyman rate in Atlanta is $43.23 an hour in the same trade and the same union, so the same percentage gives a different dollar amount at each program.

You don't need experience to apply. Your apprenticeship sponsor registers your apprenticeship with the U.S. Department of Labor. Georgia has no apprentice license and no state apprentice registration.

To apply to the Mechanical Trades Institute, you take the ACT WorkKeys assessment first. You need at least a Silver or Level 4 score in applied mathematics and in workplace documents. While you wait, you can apply at the union hall and work as a helper for $14.00 an hour when work is available.

At the PHCC of Georgia Academy, a participating employer enrolls you. The program takes 4 years, with 160 classroom hours and 2,000 hours on the job each year, and classes are in the evenings in Macon or online. The full year's tuition is due when you apply, so call the academy for the current price.

To apply to UA Local 188 in Savannah, you take a TABE test first. UA Local 188 schedules the test through the public workforce office.

UA Local 188 wage rates page Georgia licensing rule 121-3-.02, statewide master and journeyman plumber license PHCC of Georgia Academy program page

Your license in Georgia

To work as a journeyman plumber in Georgia, you need your own journeyman plumber license from the Division of Master and Journeyman Plumbers, whoever you work for. You don't need a license to start as an apprentice. The journeyman plumber license requires 1 year of experience under a licensed master plumber.

See how plumber licensing works in Georgia

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Labor national apprenticeship data, extract of August 17, 2026: the programs, the apprentice counts and the 2 median wages at the Mechanical Trades Institute
  2. Mechanical Trades Institute applicant information, plumbing, about and locations pages: the application dates, the ACT WorkKeys rule, the $60 fee, the wage scale effective August 1, 2026, the free tuition, the $14.00 helper rate and the 5-year program
  3. PHCC of Georgia Academy pages, phccga.com and phccga.org: the rule that an employer enrolls you, the yearly hours, the Macon and online classes and when tuition is due
  4. UA Local 150 application page: the application day, the 9 am rule and the next application day in 2027
  5. UA Local 188 application, training and wage rate pages: the TABE test, the July 1 deadline, the $35.45 journeyman rate and the percentage steps
  6. UA Local 177 apprenticeship page: the application by phone
  7. Georgia Code section 43-14-8, Georgia licensing rule 121-3-.02, and the state licensing division's plumber pages: the 1 year of experience for the journeyman plumber license and the absence of an apprentice license

The U.S. Department of Labor data has 12 Georgia filings whose registration numbers name a different state. No figure counts those filings. Every bar uses the same scale.

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