Build Missouri. Build Your Future.
Trade
Apprenticeships
Earn while you learn. No college debt. Join the union tradespeople building Busch Stadium, the NGA Campus, hospitals, bridges, and schools across Missouri.
journeyman electrician
length (earn the whole time)
(apprenticeship is free)
benefits from day one
Why the Trades Beat Student Loans
A four-year university degree costs an average of $120,000. A union apprenticeship costs nothing — and you get paid starting day one. By the time your college classmate graduates, you're halfway to journeyman status with four years of real income behind you.
Earn While You Learn
Apprentices start at 40–50% of journeyman scale and get raises every 6 months. You're building credit, savings, and skills simultaneously.
Your Skills Can't Be Outsourced
Bridges, stadiums, hospitals, schools — they will always need to be built. A Missouri ironworker's skills aren't moving to another country.
See What You Built
Every day you drive past a building your hands helped raise. That's a feeling no desk job can replicate. It lasts a lifetime.
Busch Stadium III Was Built by Union Tradespeople
From January 2004 to Opening Day 2006, union carpenters, ironworkers, electricians, plumbers, pipefitters, and operating engineers transformed an empty block in downtown St. Louis into one of the most beautiful ballparks in Major League Baseball.
My friend Chuck Sword, a journeyman electrician and member of IBEW Local 1, worked on the stadium sign systems for Worn Signs — the company responsible for all exterior and interior signage at Busch Stadium. Chuck has been doing that work since before the stadium was built. I actually photographed him working at the old Busch Stadium in 2000 — not knowing we'd become close friends 13 years later. That's the kind of legacy a trade career builds.
If you're a teenager in St. Louis wondering what comes after high school — the answer might be standing on the same site where your grandfather worked, your name permanently woven into the city's skyline.
Construction from Day 1
St. Louis Apprenticeship Programs
Apply directly to these programs. Most require only a high school diploma or GED and a valid driver's license.
IBEW Local 1 — Electricians
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers — St. Louis
5-year apprenticeship. Inside wiremen — commercial, industrial, institutional. Works on stadiums, hospitals, schools, and high-rises across St. Louis metro. Starting wage: ~$20/hr. Journeyman scale: $48+/hr with full benefits.
Iron Workers Local 396 — Structural Ironworkers
International Association of Bridge, Structural, Ornamental and Reinforcing Iron Workers
3-year apprenticeship. Structural, ornamental, and reinforcing ironwork. The ironworkers who set the steel skeleton of Busch Stadium III are members of this local. Physically demanding. Extraordinarily well-paid. A career with visible legacy.
Carpenters District Council of Greater St. Louis
United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America
4-year apprenticeship. Framing, interior systems, millwork, concrete formwork. The Carpenters were instrumental in the Busch Stadium III interior buildout. Strong commercial and residential pipeline across the St. Louis metro.
Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 562
United Association of Plumbers & Pipefitters — St. Louis
5-year apprenticeship. Plumbing, HVAC, process piping, medical gas systems. Healthcare construction demand in St. Louis keeps this trade at near-full employment. UA members also have reciprocity — work in any city with your card.
Operating Engineers Local 513 — Heavy Equipment Operators
International Union of Operating Engineers — St. Louis
3-year apprenticeship. Cranes, excavators, bulldozers, graders, concrete pumps. Moving earth and steel on highway projects, stadium builds, and hospital campuses. One of the best-kept secrets in the trades — high demand, high pay, union protection.
Sheet Metal Workers Local 36
International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail & Transportation Workers
5-year apprenticeship. Ductwork fabrication and installation, architectural metals, kitchen equipment, roofing. The sheet metal workers handle the HVAC ductwork in every hospital, school, and commercial building in the St. Louis region.
Kansas City & Statewide Programs
Most international trade unions have locals in both St. Louis and Kansas City. If you're in the Kansas City metro, Springfield, or anywhere in Missouri, use the U.S. Department of Labor ApprenticeshipFinder to locate your nearest program by trade and zip code.
apprenticeship.gov ApprenticeshipFinder →What You Need to Apply
Minimum Requirements (Most Programs)
- ✓ High school diploma or GED
- ✓ Age 17 or older (some programs require 18)
- ✓ Valid driver's license or state ID
- ✓ Pass a drug screen (most programs)
- ✓ Physical ability to perform the work
- ✓ One year of high school algebra (electrical programs)
What You Will Receive
- ★ Wages that increase every 6 months
- ★ Free classroom and on-the-job training
- ★ Full medical, dental, and vision insurance
- ★ Defined-benefit pension (retirement income for life)
- ★ Journeyman certification recognized nationally
- ★ A career you can point to — every building you helped build
Missouri Is Building. Are You Ready?
The NGA campus. A new hospital tower. Bridges. Schools. The next stadium. The tradespeople building them are union members who started exactly where you are — wondering what to do after graduation. They made the call. You can too.
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