Learn the trade. Get paid while you learn it.
No tuition, no student loans. You work for a local contractor from your first week, earn a raise every year, and finish with a journeyman card that works anywhere in the country.
A raise every year, written into the program
Your wage is set as a percentage of the journeyman rate and steps up each year as your hours and classroom credits are logged. Nobody negotiates it. It’s the same for every apprentice.
Percentages are of the current journeyman wage for our area, and include health coverage and a retirement contribution from your first paycheck. Classroom nights are unpaid; the hours on the job are not.
Two nights of class. Five days on a job site.
Apprentices work a normal week for a signatory contractor and come to the training center two evenings a week for the classroom half. It runs five years, September through May.
You’ll rotate through commercial, industrial, and residential work — hospitals, schools, data centers, the racetrack, hotels along the beach. The variety is the point. By year five you’ve seen most of what the trade throws at you.
- Bending and running conduit — EMT, rigid, PVC, and the math that goes with it
- Blueprint reading — take a set of prints and lay out a job from them
- Motor controls and PLCs — the systems that run industrial plants
- Code — the NEC, cover to cover, and how inspectors read it
- Fire alarm, low-voltage, and fiber — where a lot of the new work is
- Job site safety — OSHA 30, arc flash, lockout/tagout, first aid and CPR
Five steps, start to first paycheck
Most people get through this in eight to twelve weeks. Every step happens in the order below — nothing is skipped and nothing is expedited.
Check that you qualify
You need to be 18 or older, have a high school diploma or GED, one year of high school algebra with a passing grade, and a valid driver’s license. Bring your transcript — an unofficial copy is fine to start.
Apply during an open window
Applications are only accepted while the window is open. Apply online, or in person at the training center during posted hours. There’s no application fee.
Take the aptitude test
A two-and-a-half hour test covering algebra, functions, and reading comprehension. You’ll get your date by mail. Free practice material is below — use it.
Interview with the committee
A short in-person interview with the joint committee — contractors and journeymen who will ask why you want the trade and what you’ve done so far. Dress like you would for a job.
Get placed with a contractor
Ranked applicants are placed with a signatory contractor as openings come up, then you pass a drug screen and start. Class begins the following September.
The aptitude test is the step people underestimate
It’s mostly high school algebra, and most people haven’t touched it in a few years. We run a free four-week math refresher at the training center before every test date, open to anyone who has applied. Ask for it — it’s the single best thing you can do for your score.
Local contractors hiring out of this program
Every apprentice is placed with a signatory contractor in Volusia or Flagler county. These are the firms building the hospitals, schools, and hotels you already drive past.
What people ask us first
If your question isn’t here, call the training center. Someone who has been through the program will answer it.
Does it cost anything?
No tuition. You buy your own hand tools and books, which runs a few hundred dollars over the first year. Some apprentices have a contractor or a scholarship cover that.
Do I need experience?
No. Most first-year apprentices have never worked in the trade. What helps is showing up on time, passing the algebra, and being willing to work outside in August.
I’m 34 and changing careers. Am I too old?
There’s no upper age limit. Career changers do well here — a fair number of our apprentices came from the military, restaurants, or another trade.
What if I miss the application window?
You wait for the next one. Get on the notification list and we’ll email you the week it opens, along with the test dates.
Do the classroom hours count for college credit?
Yes. Completed coursework transfers toward an associate degree at participating Florida colleges. Ask us for the current articulation list.
Walk the shop floor before you apply
Open house every third Thursday at 6:00 PM. Bend a piece of conduit, meet a few apprentices, ask the training director whatever you want. Parents and spouses are welcome — bring them.
1200 Beville Road
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
(386) 555-0148
[email protected]
Office hours: Mon–Thu, 8:00–4:00