Sign inJoin the list
  1. Home
  2. Plumber
  3. Illinois
  4. Apprenticeships

Plumber apprenticeships in Illinois

A plumber apprenticeship is a paid job with training, and you don't need experience to start one. Illinois has 36 registered plumber apprenticeship programs, with 2,669 apprentices in training at the latest federal count.

Looking for electrical work? See the 76 electrician programs

Median pay when you start

$19.90 an hour

About $800 a week at 40 hours. The middle half of starting wages is $18.65 to $21.88 an hour.

Median pay at the end

$52.80 an hour

About $2,110 a week at 40 hours.

From 1,392 recent starting wages in 19 programs, and 932 people who finished recently in 15 programs. The 2 figures come from different groups of apprentices, not the same people followed from start to finish.

Note: The Plumbers' Joint Apprenticeship Committee Local 130 in Chicago accounts for 62.6% of the wage records behind these 2 figures, so the figures mostly describe 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.

    Plumbers Local 130 takes applications online only, during set application periods. The next application period opens at apply.jac130.org in November 2026.

    Plumbers Local 130 UA, apprenticeship page

Find a program near you

All 36 registered programs, grouped by who runs them, with the most apprentices first. The 9 programs inside prisons are at the end.

27 programs

Sort by

Union programs (JAC and JATC)

14 programs · 1,658 apprentices

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

Contractor associations

1 program · 3 apprentices

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

Companies, schools and other programs

12 programs · 586 apprentices

Many smaller programs are companies that train their own employees.

Companies, schools and other programs
ProgramCityApprentices
Assoc. Builders & Contractors Inc (search the web)Also trains other tradesElk Grove VillageChicago area237 apprentices
Abt Electronics (search the web)Also trains other tradesGlenviewChicago area204 apprentices
Springfield Plumbers & Steamfitters (search the web)SpringfieldDownstate111 apprentices
Education Design Development and Research Corporation (search the web)Also trains other tradesChicagoChicago area16 apprentices
Four Seasons Home Services LLC (search the web)BridgeviewDownstate15 apprentices
Dale's Plumbing (search the web)PecatonicaDownstate2 apprentices
RWB Underground Inc (search the web)ElginChicago area1 apprentices
Asap Plumbing LLC (search the web)WoodstockDownstate0 apprentices
Bear Down Community Investment Group (search the web)Also trains other tradesChicagoChicago area0 apprentices
Drf Trusted Property Solutions (search the web)PlainfieldDownstate0 apprentices
Mann Made Plumbing, Inc. (search the web)BeecherDownstate0 apprentices
MRC-W Career Institute (search the web)Also trains other tradesBurnhamChicago area0 apprentices

Also trains other trades: these 16 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.

Programs inside prisons

Illinois Correctional Industries runs 9 of the 36 programs inside state prisons, and these programs train people who are incarcerated there. You can't apply to these programs from outside, and the wage figures don't include them.

  • ICI - Menard Correctional CenterMenard88 apprentices
  • ICI - Hill Correctional CenterGalesburg80 apprentices
  • ICI - Graham Correctional CenterHillsboro62 apprentices
  • ICI - Vandalia Correctional CenterVandalia41 apprentices
  • ICI - Centralia Correctional CenterCentralia38 apprentices
  • ICI - Illinois River Correctional CenterCanton38 apprentices
  • ICI - East Moline Correctional CenterEast Moline35 apprentices
  • Graham Correctional CenterHillsboro34 apprentices
  • ICI - Western Illinois Correctional CenterMt. Sterling6 apprentices

How one program works: Plumbers Local 130

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

Plumbers Local 130

  1. 1

    Apply online

    Apply at apply.jac130.org during an application period. You need your documents and the $50 application fee.

  2. 2

    Take the aptitude test

    Plumbers Local 130 emails you the time and place of your aptitude test.

  3. 3

    Complete the screening

    If Plumbers Local 130 invites you to pre-orientation, you take a drug screen, a physical exam and an agility test.

  4. 4

    Register as an apprentice

    Plumbers Local 130 registers you with its apprenticeship committee. You need a valid driver's license and reliable transportation.

Plumbers Local 130 UA, apprenticeship page

More from the programs

An hour at Plumbers Local 130, the largest program

$20.55 to $45.40

Plumbers Local 130 pays $20.55 an hour for your first 6 months and then $22.40 an hour. The rate is $26.60 in year 2, $30.25 in year 3, $39.95 in year 4 and $45.40 in year 5. The journeyman rate on the same wage sheet is $60.50 an hour.

An hour on public works jobs in Cook County

$62.00

The Illinois Department of Labor sets this rate for plumbers on public works jobs in Cook County. The rate covers one county and one kind of work, so it isn't a starting wage. The rate is based on the union wage scale.

You don't need experience to apply. Most of the smaller programs are companies that train their own employees.

To find a program, pick 2 or 3 programs near you from the list. Search each program's name with its city, and ask the program how and when it takes applications.

To apply to Plumbers Local 130, the largest program, you must be at least 17 years old. You must be 18 years old by the time you're registered as an apprentice. You need a valid driver's license, and you must show a diploma, transcripts, a GED or a veteran's DD214.

The Plumbers Local 130 apprenticeship takes 5 years. The application fee is $50. Plumbers Local 130 makes no exceptions to its requirements.

Plumbers Local 130 UA, PCA wage rate sheet, effective 2025-06-01 to 2026-05-31 Illinois Department of Labor prevailing wage, Cook County

Your license in Illinois

To work as a plumber in Illinois, you need your own state license from the Illinois Department of Public Health. The license is in your name, so you need it whoever you work for.

See how plumber licensing works in Illinois

Sources

  1. 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
  2. Illinois Department of Labor, prevailing wage rates for Cook County, posted August 15, 2026, labor.illinois.gov: the rate for public works jobs in Cook County
  3. Plumbers Local 130 UA, PCA wage rate sheet, effective 2025-06-01 to 2026-05-31, and Plumbers Local 130 UA, apprenticeship page: the wage scale, the application period, the fee and the requirements at Plumbers Local 130

The U.S. Department of Labor data has 20 Illinois filings whose registration numbers name a different state. No figure counts those filings. Every bar uses the same scale.

Get an email when it matters

Pick what you want to hear about. You get one short email when it happens.

Alerts for: Plumber in Illinois

Email me when

One email when it happens. Nothing else, and you can unsubscribe any time. You must be 13 or older. Under 18, a parent or guardian must agree to the terms for you.