An hour to start at Mechanical Trades Carolina
$20.37
Mechanical Trades Carolina is the plumbers and pipefitters union school in Concord. In the federal data, its recent plumber apprentices started at a median of $20.37 an hour. Its apprentices who finished recently left at a median of $23.90 an hour.
An hour to start on the PHCC of NC Academy registered scale
$15.00
The PHCC of NC Academy is the plumbing contractors' association academy. Its registered scale starts at $15.00 an hour and rises every 2,000 hours to $17.50, against a journeyworker rate of $18.00. Your employer may register its own scale instead, and you aren't paid for classroom hours.
For each level at Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington
$190
Cape Fear Community College charges $190.00 for each of the 4 levels of its plumbing and pipefitting apprenticeship, which has 732 classroom hours over 4 years. Classes have up to 20 to 25 students, and seats go to the first people who register. Your employer may cover the cost, and the college says it doesn't guarantee job placement.
You don't need experience to apply. The largest sponsors are union schools, contractor association academies and community colleges. Community colleges in Wilmington, Raleigh and other cities provide the classroom instruction.
Note: The largest sponsor on the list is the Fort Bragg education center. It serves only active-duty soldiers stationed at Fort Bragg, in apprenticeships tied to their military jobs, so you can't apply to it from outside.
To apply to Mechanical Trades Carolina, you must live in North Carolina or South Carolina. If you transfer from a community college program, you may not need the test score. You need these things to apply.
- a high school diploma or GED
- a North Carolina or South Carolina driver's license
- your birth certificate and your Social Security card
- a Career Readiness Certificate test score of Silver or higher
- dependable transportation
The Mechanical Trades Carolina apprenticeship takes 5 years. A free 18-week welding pre-apprenticeship leads into the program. If you graduate from the pre-apprenticeship with your welding certifications, you get 1 year of credit and direct entry.
