How much do electrician apprentices make in Virginia?

BLS doesn't report apprentice pay on its own, but electrician helpers in Virginia earned a median $21.41 an hour in May 2025, and electricians, a group that includes apprentices, earned a median $30.24, according to the BLS. Pay rises with hours and completed class years. The Richmond JATC's union scale starts first-period apprentices at $20.86 an hour plus benefits as of March 2026.

No. Most Virginia programs take beginners with a high school diploma or GED who pass an entry test, and union JATCs ask for official transcripts and test your algebra. The Richmond JATC accepts applications from age 17 and offers direct entry to recent veterans and people with 4,000 hours of electrical construction work. Open-shop programs like ABC Virginia need you to be working for an electrical contractor.

Most Virginia programs run 4 years with 8,000 hours of paid on-the-job training, including the Richmond and Tidewater JATCs, ABC Virginia and IEC Chesapeake. Classroom time runs from 600 hours at ABC Virginia to more than 720 hours at the Tidewater JATC. The DC JATC for IBEW Local 26, which covers Northern Virginia, runs 5 years.

No. Virginia's DPOR licenses journeyman and master electricians, not apprentices, and apprentices learn on the job under licensed electricians. Finishing a registered apprenticeship approved by the Department of Workforce Development and Advancement exempts you from the journeyman exam under 18VAC50-30-50, and the license then runs three years with 3 hours of continuing education per renewal.

Both lead to a nationally recognized completion certificate. Union JATCs in Richmond, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia use transcripts, aptitude tests and ranking lists, and they place you with a signatory contractor. Non-union programs like ABC Virginia and IEC Chesapeake need you to work for a contractor, and you take classes one or two nights a week for $1,950 to $4,200 a year.