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

Registered plumbing apprenticeships in Maine are registered with the state's apprenticeship agency.

Maine is a State Apprenticeship Agency (SAA) state: the Maine Department of Labor's Maine Apprenticeship Program is the recognized agency, and registered programs are registered either by a recognized SAA acting for the U.S. Department of Labor or by DOL's Office of Apprenticeship in states without one.

The Maine sponsor our research confirmed by name is UA Local 716 Maine Plumbers and Pipefitters in Augusta, whose five-year apprenticeship covers plumbing, pipefitting, welding and HVAC.

A program registration and a plumbing license are two different arrangements: the Plumbers' Examining Board licenses the apprentices themselves, covered next.

Both.

Maine requires a license for any individual engaged in plumbing, issued by the Plumbers' Examining Board, and municipalities may not require their own plumbing licenses (homeowners working on their own single-family residences are exempt).

The board's levels are Trainee Plumber, Journeyman-in-Training, Journeyman Plumber and Master Plumber, and plumbing apprentices hold the Trainee Plumber license: $100 plus a $21 criminal background check, no exam, renewal every two years, and employment by a licensed master plumber or an entity that employs one.

A master or journeyman plumber may directly supervise no more than 3 trainee plumbers; federally, a registered program's standards must also state a numeric apprentice-to-journeyworker ratio consistent with proper supervision, training, safety and continuity of employment.

Completing a registered DOL apprenticeship program is one route to the Journeyman-in-Training license.

Heating fuel runs on a parallel rule: Maine oil-heat apprentices hold the Apprentice Oil Burner and/or Solid Fuel Technician license ($40, no exam) and work under a master's direct supervision.

On renewals, our research found no continuing-education requirement stated on the board's license or renewal pages — check with the board.

The United Association (UA) says its registered apprenticeships typically last five years and cover plumbing, pipefitting, HVACR, welding and fire protection.

The Maine program our research confirmed by name is UA Local 716 Maine Plumbers and Pipefitters in Augusta: a five-year apprenticeship covering plumbing, pipefitting, welding and HVAC, leading to journeyman plumber, pipefitter, welder or HVAC technician.

The local's stated entry requirements are age 18, Maine residency and a high school diploma or GED, and it says its HVAC apprentices get their Maine natural gas license while learning to work on gas lines and refrigeration systems.

Our research did not confirm details for any other Maine local or JATC, so ask the local and the Maine Apprenticeship Program which sponsors hold registered plumbing programs in the state.

The non-union route is the one contractors call the merit shop.

Nationally, Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) describes itself as founded on the merit shop philosophy, and PHCC offers apprenticeship content through an online learning academy.

The Maine layer is not established in our research: we did not confirm a Maine ABC or PHCC chapter, or an individual employer, sponsoring a registered plumbing apprenticeship.

Ask the associations and the contractors you know which registered programs exist, and test any offer against registration: a program is a registered apprenticeship when the Maine Apprenticeship Program or DOL's Office of Apprenticeship registers it, so ask which agency registered the program and confirm it before you commit.

Classroom time in a registered apprenticeship is related technical instruction: DOL recommends — but does not require — a minimum of 144 hours of it per year of apprenticeship, and program terms can be time-based, competency-based or a hybrid, so each program's registered standards set what its apprentices actually take.

Maine's licensing rules are where school shows up for plumbers.

Sitting the Journeyman Plumber exam takes at least 2 years and 4,000 hours as a licensed trainee under a master plumber, or completion of a Maine two-year high school CTE plumbing program or a one-year community-college plumbing program; the pass mark is 70%.

The school and apprenticeship routes lead first to the Journeyman-in-Training license — for people who completed one year of plumbing school, a two-year high-school CTE program or a registered DOL apprenticeship and passed the journeyman exam — and 2,000 hours under a master within its single 4-year term completes the journeyman step.

Which Maine schools and colleges teach that classroom work was not established in our research; ask each sponsor where its apprentices take class and how the hours are documented.

Start with employment: the Trainee Plumber license requires employment by a licensed master plumber or an entity that employs one, so the job and the license come together, and the license itself costs $100 plus a $21 criminal background check with no exam.

Then pick your route.

Union: apply to UA Local 716 in Augusta — you must be 18, a Maine resident, with a high school diploma or GED.

Merit shop: ask contractors whether they sponsor a registered program, and ask which agency registered it.

Federally, a registered apprentice must be at least 16 unless a higher minimum age is set by law, sponsors can set their own qualifications on top, and registered programs must pay a progressively increasing wage schedule tied to skill, with the entry wage not below the FLSA minimum wage where it applies.

From trainee, sitting the Journeyman Plumber exam takes at least 2 years and 4,000 hours as a licensed trainee under a master plumber, and our research did not identify the exam vendor for Maine plumbing exams, so confirm arrangements with the board.