How to Get Started
How to Get Started
Union construction trades feature a wide array of job paths that offer good wages and benefits, state-of-the-art training, lifelong careers and retirement security. Here’s a roadmap to begin your journey in the union building trades.
Photo: SMART Local 100
Step 1: Find the Right Construction Trade for You
Each trade is different, with specialized skillsets, unique opportunities and varied career paths.
Step 2 (optional): Join an Apprenticeship Readiness Progam
If you are not ready to apply to an apprenticeship program, then an apprenticeship readiness program such as Raising the Bar may be a good fit for you. These short programs, typically about six weeks long, provide participants with technical and job readiness skills that will prepare them for a career in construction.
Step 3: Apply to an Apprenticeship
During an apprenticeship, you learn about the trade through classroom learning and on-the-job from experienced workers. Your education is free and you will graduate from your apprenticeship program with no student debt!
Earn While You Learn!
Earn While You Learn!
IBEW Local Union 24 member and Maryland State Senator Cory McCray is the only member of the Maryland General Assembly to have completed a registered apprenticeship.
He is also the author of a new book — “The Apprenticeship That Saved My Life” — which details his journey from the street corners of Baltimore to a registered apprenticeship and career as a union electrician, and then on to being elected to the Maryland State Senate.The book was released September 30th, 2025.
You can order a copy from Powell’s, a unionized independent bookstore in Portland, OR, whose employees are represented by ILWU Local 5.
During an apprenticeship, you learn about the trade through classroom learning and on-the-job from experienced workers.
During an apprenticeship, you learn about the trade through classroom learning and on-the-job from experienced workers.
Step 1: Find the Right Construction Trade for You
Learn more about each trade, qualifications, starting wages, benefits and requirements by clicking the icons below.
Photo: International Union of Painters and Allied Trades
Step 2 (optional): Join an Apprenticeship Readiness Program
If you are not ready to apply to an apprenticeship program, then an apprenticship readiness program may be a good fit for you. Developed by North America’s Building Trades Union (NABTU), Multi-Craft Core (MC3) Pre-Apprenticeship programs provide participants with technical and job readiness skills that will prepare them for a career in construction.
Graduates earn industry-standard certifications, meet with employers, tour apprenticeship training centers, and connect with union members and contractors. Many MC3 programs provide supportive services, stipends and referrals to housing and food assistance.
The Baltimore-D.C. Metro Building Trades Council works with the Construction Trades Workforce Initiative (CTWI) to partner with high schools, community colleges, jails and local organizations to operate Raising the Bar, an MC3 Pre-Apprenticeship program.
Facts About Union Apprenticeship Programs
Facts About Union Apprenticeship Programs
- GED or HS diploma required.
- 2 to 5-year training programs.
- Average starting pay ~$26/hr.
- Zero student debt.
- Excellent benefits: health, retirement, paid time off.
- No college degree required.
Step 3: Apply to an Apprenticeship
Have a good sense of which trade most interests you? Select that trade on the grid of trades above, then follow links to the local’s web page, where you can find local office or training center contact info, as well as apprenticeship program application info.
Still considering which trade you are most interested in? Follow the link below to contact one or more trades at once and submit your information to multiple local apprenticeship programs. Submitting the form linked below will send your inquiry and contact information to the Washington Area Apprenticeship Training Directors Association, which will share your information with the apprenticeship programs you selected.
In this section:
In this section:
Photo: International Union of Painters and Allied Trades