Program Structure
Western Pennsylvania Electrical JATC trains apprentices for IBEW Local 5 in a five-year registered apprenticeship that combines on-the-job training with classroom instruction. Apprentices work during the day, earning wages and benefits, and attend night classes a few times a week. The Western Pennsylvania Electrical Training Center is at 5 Hot Metal Street, Suite 100, Pittsburgh, PA 15203, and the JATC also trains Local 5 apprentices at a satellite facility in Clearfield. Total on-the-job and classroom hours are not published.
Requirements
Applicants must be at least 18. High school seniors who are 17 or 18 may apply and take the entrance test before graduating, but cannot interview until they are 18. A high school diploma or GED is required, along with credit for at least one secondary or post-secondary algebra course. Applicants must take any tests given by or for the JATC. When an apprenticeship is offered, the applicant takes a physical, a substance test and a color-blindness test, given by a doctor the JATC selects and pays for. Before selection, the JATC runs a background check, at its own cost, with the applicant's consent.
Applicants must have lived for at least one year before applying in one of these Pennsylvania counties: Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Cameron, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Elk, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, McKean, Somerset, Venango, Washington or Westmoreland. A valid Pennsylvania driver's license is required for the whole apprenticeship.
Application Process
Applications for the 2026–2027 school year are closed. The JATC will post all updates for the 2027–2028 school year on its website and asks people not to call the office about applications, so check the official application-process page. There is a $25 nonrefundable processing fee when applications are taken. Applying or testing does not guarantee selection, a class seat or a job. The office phone, (412) 432-1145, is listed for other matters.
What You Earn
The JATC does not publish a dated apprentice wage scale or tuition figures. The $25 processing fee is the only cost given on the application page; ask about books, tools and other charges. A March 2025 report prepared by Keystone Research Center for Pennsylvania's Workforce Development Board and hosted on pa.gov, using U.S. Department of Labor apprenticeship data current to December 31, 2024, lists Electricians Local 5 JATC among the state's top 100 registered programs by completers. The wage figure in that table is an exit wage for completers, not an apprentice's starting rate. Completing the apprenticeship is not a Pennsylvania electrician license.