Plumbing Apprenticeships in Hawaii: Programs, Requirements and How to Apply

Apprenticeship registration in Hawaii runs through the state.

Hawaii is a State Apprenticeship Agency state on the U.S. Department of Labor's list, and registered programs are registered either by the federal Office of Apprenticeship, where no recognized state agency exists, or by a recognized State Apprenticeship Agency acting for the Department of Labor — in Hawaii, the state side.

The registering body is the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR), whose September 2025 list names the construction apprenticeship programs approved and registered by the state.

That list mixes union and non-union sponsors: the Honolulu JATC of UA Plumbers and Fitters Local 675 and PAMCAH for the plumber, refrigeration/air-conditioning and steamfitter/welder trades, and Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC Hawaii) for plumbing.

The sheet metal trade has its own sponsor on the same list — the Hawaii Joint Apprenticeship Committee for the Sheet Metal Industry, run by the Sheet Metal Contractors Association and Sheet Metal Workers Local 293.

Yes on registration, and the registration is not a license: an apprentice is registered under chapter 372 rather than holding one of the board's plumber licenses.

Hawaii's plumbing rules define an apprentice as a person registered under the state apprenticeship law, HRS chapter 372, who performs plumbing work under the supervision of a licensed journey worker or master plumber.

Apprentice is a status under that chapter, not one of the Board of Electricians and Plumbers' licenses — the board's individual plumber licenses are the Journey Worker Plumber (PJ) and the Master Plumber (PM).

The board's journey worker license requires 5 years and at least 10,000 hours of plumbing work in compliance with the Uniform Plumbing Code.

The registration you hold as an apprentice is your apprenticeship registration, so confirm with your program and employer how it is filed under chapter 372.

The plumbing-side union sponsor on DLIR's list is the Honolulu JATC of UA Plumbers and Fitters Local 675 and PAMCAH, and it covers three trades: plumber, refrigeration and air-conditioning, and steamfitter/welder.

For plumbing, the program is five years — each apprentice undergoes 10,000 work hours plus ten semesters of related classroom instruction.

The local's apprenticeship site is plumbershawaii.com.

Neighboring but distinct: the sheet metal apprenticeship belongs to the Hawaii Joint Apprenticeship Committee for the Sheet Metal Industry — the Sheet Metal Contractors Association and Sheet Metal Workers Local 293 — not to the plumbing program.

Yes: the non-union program our research found on DLIR's September 2025 list is an Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC Hawaii) plumber apprenticeship, registered by the state alongside the union programs.

That is the only merit-shop sponsor our research confirmed in Hawaii.

We did not confirm PHCC or ACCA chapter programs in the state, and the September 2025 list is a snapshot — other registered employer programs could have been added since, so DLIR's current list is the place to check.

The question to take to any employer offering plumbing training is the same one to ask everywhere: whether its program is registered, and with which agency.

Classroom learning is built into Hawaii's plumbing apprenticeship itself: Local 675's five-year program includes ten semesters of related classroom instruction.

Federally, the Department of Labor recommends a minimum of 144 hours of related technical instruction per year of apprenticeship — a recommendation, not a quota; each program's registered standards set what it actually asks of you.

Which Hawaii colleges deliver a given program's classroom hours was not established in our research, so ask each sponsor where its apprentices take class and how those hours are documented before you sign.

One Hawaii school does appear in the licensing layer: Honolulu Community College is an approved provider of the Uniform Plumbing Code update course plumbers attend to show continued competency at license renewal — a license requirement, not an apprenticeship class.

Start from DLIR's registered list and apply with the sponsor whose trade matches the work you want: the Local 675 JATC for plumbing, refrigeration and air-conditioning or steamfitting — its apprenticeship site is plumbershawaii.com — or ABC Hawaii for a non-union plumber program.

Federally, a registered apprentice must be at least 16 years old unless a higher minimum age is set by law, and registered programs must pay a progressively increasing wage schedule tied to the skills you gain; the actual entry requirements and wage steps live in each program's standards, so get them from the sponsor in writing.

Once you are accepted, your registration runs under HRS chapter 372 and you work under a licensed journey worker or master plumber.

Completing a registered program earns a certificate issued by the registration agency — in Hawaii, the state side.

The Journey Worker Plumber license requires 5 years and at least 10,000 hours under the Uniform Plumbing Code; Hawaii's plumber exam is based on the UPC and is administered by Prometric.

Our guide to how to get a plumbing apprenticeship walks the application itself step by step.