There are trades in northern Illinois that offer apprenticeships for eligible, skilled workers, including: 

• Bricklayers
• Carpenters
• Painters
• Electricians
• Ironworkers
• Laborers & Contractors
• Masons
• Plumbing and Pipefitting
• Roofers
• Sheet Metal
• Operating Engineers
• Tooling and Machining

For more information, contact the US Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship , located at 308 W. State Street, Suite 403 in Rockford. Phone: 815-987-4253

Apprenticeship qualifications vary from one trade to the next, but most require a high school diploma or GED, your own transportation, physical ability to perform the work of the trade and the ability to work with your hands.

 An apprentice is a paid worker who is enrolled in a special training program administered by an employer or together with a labor organization or trade association.

Most apprentices work in trades’ related to construction or machining and tooling industry.

Apprenticeship is the best route to a career in a skilled trade. Such careers offer excellent wages and benefits. Moreover, they provide a sense of accomplishment, as the results of your work are there for all to see.

The typical program includes 2,000 hours of on-the-job training plus at least 144 hours per year of related classroom instruction.  Apprentices earn about half the going tradesperson’s wage to start. Pay is gradually increased over the length of the apprenticeship, until training is completed and the trainee graduates to full status.