A plumber apprenticeship is a paid job with training, and you don't need experience to start one. Pennsylvania has 117 registered plumber apprenticeship programs, with 1,960 apprentices in training at the latest federal count.
About $830 a week at 40 hours. The middle half of starting wages is $16.00 to $24.01 an hour.
Median pay at the end
$34.87 an hour
About $1,390 a week at 40 hours.
From 1,247 recent starting wages in 27 programs, and 960 people who finished recently in 23 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.
The 2026-2027 school year at the Aston school began in mid-September, and tuition is due in full through your employer before classes start. Ask the school when enrollment for the 2027-2028 year opens. Enrollment at ABC Keystone is closed for the current school year, so check its site for the next opening date.
All 117 registered programs, grouped by who runs them, with the most apprentices first.
117 programs
Sort by
Most apprenticesThe largest programs first
Name, A to Z
Contractor associations
4 programs · 1,028 apprentices
Each of these programs carries the name of a contractor association: Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) or Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors (PHCC).
No program matches. Pick another area or check the spelling.
Also trains other trades: these 14 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: PSA PHCC apprenticeship school
Each program runs in its own way. This is how one of them takes apprentices and trains them, as its own pages describe it.
PSA PHCC apprenticeship school
1
Get a job with a licensed master plumber
Find full-time work with a licensed master plumber. Your employer signs the Aston school enrollment form with you and writes in the employer's license number.
2
Enroll with your employer
Send in the enrollment form with a copy of your diploma or GED. Your tuition goes through your employer before classes start. The school has no application fee and no entrance exam, and it gives no refunds after the first night of school.
3
Attend class 1 night a week
You complete 144 hours of class a year for 4 years. You need a 70% average in each class to move to the next year.
4
Take the journeyman exam
After 4 years, apply to the Delaware County Municipalities Plumbing Council and document your 4 years of work with tax forms. The exam has 100 code questions, plumbing math and a drawing. The school issues your federal completion certificate, but the council decides who takes the exam.
A year at the PSA PHCC apprenticeship school in Aston
$4,200
The PSA PHCC apprenticeship school is the largest plumber-only school, and its program takes 4 years. A year costs $4,200 if your employer is an association member and $4,700 if not. The school requires the payment to come through your employer, so if you pay the tuition yourself, you give it to your employer to send in.
To apply for the Delaware County journeyman exam
$225
In Delaware County, the Delaware County Municipalities Plumbing Council gives the journeyman plumber exam, and the application costs $225. You can take the exam after 4 years of full-time work for a registered master plumber. Other counties and cities set their own rules.
To apply to ABC Keystone, the largest sponsor, you don't need a job in the trade. A diploma or GED helps, but ABC Keystone doesn't require one. The application fee is $125 and isn't refunded, and ABC Keystone works to connect you with member companies for a job.
If you score 80% on the ABC Keystone math entrance test, you skip the construction math class. Ask ABC Keystone about its tuition, its apprentice wages and the length of its plumbing program.
To enroll at the PSA PHCC apprenticeship school in Aston, you must work full time for a licensed master plumber. You also need a high school diploma or GED. The apprenticeship is 8,000 hours on the job and 576 hours of classroom instruction, with class 1 night a week from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm.
Note: The Aston school allows up to 4 missed nights a year and has no make-up nights. You bring your own laptop or tablet, and the school mails your grades to your employer 2 times a year.
Pennsylvania has no statewide plumber 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
Delaware County Municipalities Plumbing Council journeyman exam packet, posted at psaphcc.com: the $225 exam, what the exam covers and who can take it
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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