Apprenticeships with local unions can be the answer to your employment needs!

Apprenticeship qualifications vary from one trade to the next, but most require:

• A high school diploma or General Equivalency Diploma (GED)
• Your own transportation
• Physical fitness
• Ability to work with your hands

Many trades also require:

• Above-average math skills
• Completion of courses such as drafting, industrial arts, applied English and algebra
• Ability to work at elevated heights

Trades offering apprenticeships:

• Boilermaker: works with boilers and vats
• Bricklayer: builds with brick, cinderblock or concrete block
• Cabinetmaker: builds cabinets and/or furniture using woodworking machines and tools
• Carpenter: works at a variety of building tasks using hand and power tools
• Cement Mason: lays and finishes concrete using hand and power tools
• Drywall Finisher: prepares drywall surfaces for painting and papering
• Electrician: installs and maintains electrical wiring and apparatus
• Millwright: installs escalators and other conveyor systems, generators and electric turbines
• Ornamental Ironworker: installs ironwork that is not part of a structural frame, such as window frames, stairs and fire escapes
• Operating Engineer: runs heavy equipment like bulldozers, power shovels, graders and derricks
• Painter/Decorator: applies paint and paper to outdoor and indoor walls
• Patternmaker: makes metal foundry patterns, core boxes and match plates
• Pipefitter: installs and repairs low and high pressure pipe systems
• Plasterer: applies plaster to interior walls and ceiling
• Plumber: installs and maintains pipe and water systems
• Roofer: installs and repairs a variety of roof surfaces
• Sheet Metal Worker: works with sheet metal products such as ventilation units
• Sprinkler Fitter: installs fire protection and irrigation systems
• Structural Ironworker: assembles, installs and maintains iron and steel structures
• Terrazzo/Tile Layer: installs terrazzo and tile to floors, walls and ceilings
• Tuckpointer: erects scaffolding, shoring and braces, and seals outside surfaces

What is needed to apply for apprenticeships:
(Required documentation may vary from one trade to another)

• High school diploma or GED certificate
• Names and addresses of the high schools or vocational schools attended
• Copy of birth certificate
• Names, addresses and telephone numbers of two or three persons who have agreed to serve as personal references
• Veterans need Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty (Form DD-214)

Apprenticeship Contact Information for Illinois:

USDOL/ETA/OA
Room 656
230 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604

David Wyatt, State director
Phone: (312) 596-5508
Email: wyatt.david@dol.gov