Checked against primary sources 2026-09-05

The path

Electrician Apprenticeship Georgia: How to Get Started

Georgia has no state apprentice card to apply for, because the state licenses contractors and nobody else. Apprenticeship here runs through employers and joint programs registered with the US Department of Labor, and the hours you put in are what later gets you to the contractor exam.

Test yourself: thirty free questions, timed

There's no card to apply for

In some states an apprentice registers with the licensing agency, pays a fee and carries a card. Georgia has no such step. The board's FAQ says it licenses electrical contractors and not electricians, and Board Chapter 121 has no apprentice class in it.

What matters legally is who you work for. Board Rule 121-3-.01 counts Primary Experience as installation work gained under an active licensed electrical contractor, and form 44 says experience from an unlicensed contractor doesn't count. Pick your employer with that in mind on day one.

Who registers apprenticeship programs

The registration that exists is federal. IEC's Atlanta and Georgia chapters say on their apprenticeship page that the US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship certifies the program. IBEW Local 613 describes its own as a four year Registered Apprenticeship Program.

So when a Georgia program calls itself registered, that's the Department of Labor's register, not the Secretary of State's. The state board isn't in the apprenticeship business at all, and no program's paperwork substitutes for the experience documentation the board asks for later.

The joint programs

Atlanta

IBEW Local 613 runs a four year registered apprenticeship out of the Electrical Training Center at 6601 Bay Circle, Peachtree Corners, GA 30071, phone 404-523-5400. Its listed requirements are living within Local 613 jurisdiction, a valid Georgia or Alabama driver's license, a high school diploma or GED equivalent, and passing a background check. The application window it names is February 1, 2026 to March 31, 2026.

The Atlanta Electrical JATC, formally the Atlanta Electrical Joint Apprenticeship and Training Trust Fund, describes itself as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Peachtree Corners running an Inside Wireman Apprenticeship, a Telecommunications Apprenticeship and a Construction Electrician Program. The Atlanta Electrical Contractors Association, founded in 1929, says its apply route means a salary while you train on real job sites without tuition debt.

Augusta

IBEW Local 1579 lists the IBEW and NECA Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee at 403 Beverly Rd, Martinez, GA 30907, phone 706-722-4100. Requirements include a minimum age of 18, high school graduation or a GED with at least one year of Algebra, a Georgia or South Carolina driver's license, a background check within 30 days, a passing aptitude test score, an interview and physical fitness for the work. The application fee is $45 and non refundable, and the window it posts is January 4, 2027 through June 2, 2027.

Macon

IBEW Local 1316 runs the Macon Electrical Joint Apprenticeship Training Program from 1046 Patterson Street, Macon, phone 478-743-7017. Applicants bring a driver's license, Social Security card or work status documents, birth certificate, high school diploma or GED, an official transcript documenting one year of Algebra, a DD-214 where it applies, and a $30 application fee, then sit a proctored aptitude exam. The Macon Electrical Training Center at the same address says the apprenticeship is tuition free, with pay from day one, health coverage and pension contributions.

Savannah

IBEW Local 508 trains through the Savannah JATC, backed by the Electrical Training Alliance, phone (912) 964-1989. The Savannah Electrical Training Alliance describes a four year program of classroom instruction and paid on the job training covering electrical power systems, power distribution, backup power generation and programmable logic controllers, with Savannah and Brunswick campuses.

The merit shop route

The IEC Atlanta and Georgia Chapters program at 330 Research Court, Peachtree Corners, GA 30092, phone (770) 242-9277, runs four years and asks for 8,000 hours of on the job training plus 576 hours of classroom instruction.

It's not free. The chapter lists tuition at $1,495 per year for employees of member contractors, plus books at $600 to $900 a year. The page offers three doors rather than one: employees of a member contractor ready to enroll, applicants looking for work with a member contractor, and applicants enrolling on their own or while working for a non member contractor.

The chapter home page says there are over 1,000 active apprentices and that no experience is needed to start.

The technical college route

Georgia's technical colleges run electrical programs that pair with a job rather than replace one. Atlanta Technical College's Electrical Systems Technology Diploma is 46 credit hours. Central Georgia Technical College, Savannah Technical College, Augusta Technical College, Athens Technical College, Columbus Technical College, Gwinnett Technical College and Chattahoochee Technical College all carry electrical awards. Each city page on this site links the ones in that city.

School can also buy back time. Rule 121-3-.01(5)(b) lets completion of a two year academic diploma program count as two years of experience, and a two year academic certificate program from a vocational-technical school the same. Paragraph (5) caps the total credit for secondary experience or education at one year, which is a tension in the rule's own text. The experience page lays out both readings.

What apprentices earn while they train

The joint programs describe the model rather than a wage table. Macon's center says pay starts from day one with health coverage and pension contributions and calls the apprenticeship tuition free. Atlanta's contractors association describes a salary while training on real job sites with no tuition debt.

For the ceiling those years are heading toward, electricians in Georgia had a median wage of $28.04 an hour and $58,320 a year in the May 2025 wage data republished by O*NET from the Bureau of Labor Statistics series. The national median in the same data is $30.38 and $63,190.

Start your record on day one

Nobody hands you a state approved hour log in Georgia, so build your own. Keep the employer's license number, the dates, the hours and what you actually did, sorted by the experience areas the board's application asks about.

Four years at 2,000 hours a year is the bar, and the application asks you to document each area separately rather than in one lump. Doing that as you go is far easier than reconstructing it four years later from memory and pay stubs.

Questions people ask

Do I need to register as an electrical apprentice in Georgia?

No. The state board licenses electrical contractors only, and there's no apprentice registration, card or fee in its rules. What counts is that you work under an active licensed electrical contractor, because that's the experience the board credits later.

Who registers apprenticeship programs in Georgia?

The US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship. IEC's Atlanta and Georgia chapters name it directly on their apprenticeship page, and IBEW Local 613 calls its own a Registered Apprenticeship Program.

How long is an electrician apprenticeship in Georgia?

Four years in the programs we checked. IEC Atlanta lists 8,000 hours of on the job training and 576 hours of classroom instruction, and the Savannah Electrical Training Alliance and IBEW Local 613 both describe four year programs.

Do you get paid as an apprentice?

Yes, apprenticeship is employment. The Macon Electrical Training Center says pay starts day one along with health coverage and pension contributions, and the Atlanta Electrical Contractors Association describes earning a salary while training on job sites.

What does an apprenticeship cost?

It depends which door you use. Macon's center calls its apprenticeship tuition free, while IEC Atlanta lists $1,495 a year for employees of member contractors plus $600 to $900 in books. IBEW Local 1579 charges a $45 non refundable application fee and Local 1316 a $30 application fee.

Can I start with no experience?

The IEC Atlanta chapter home page says no experience is needed to start. The IBEW programs ask for a high school diploma or GED, a driver's license, a background check and an aptitude test, and Local 1579 and Local 1316 both want a year of Algebra on a transcript.

Does my apprenticeship give me a Georgia license at the end?

No. It gives you the documented experience under a licensed contractor that the board asks for, plus the training. The license comes from applying to the board and passing the Class I or Class II exam.

What this page cites

• Board FAQ, Secretary of State Confirms the board licenses electrical contractors and not electricians, which is why no apprentice registration exists. source
• Board Rule 121-3-.01 Counts Primary Experience as installation work under an active licensed electrical contractor and sets the education credit rules. source
• IBEW Local 613 apprenticeship recruitment Describes a four year registered apprenticeship, the training center address and the entry requirements and application window. source
• IEC Atlanta and Georgia Chapters apprenticeship Names the Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship as the certifying body and lists 8,000 hours, 576 classroom hours and the tuition. source
• Macon Electrical Training Center States the apprenticeship is tuition free with pay, health coverage and pension contributions from the start. source
• O*NET local wages, electricians in Georgia Republishes the May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage series for electricians statewide and by metro area. source