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Home / General Contractors / Colorado / Apprenticeships

General Contractor apprenticeships in Colorado

Colorado has 15 registered general contractor apprenticeship programs: 1 union and 14 open shop.1 Apprentices are hired and paid while they learn.

Find a program near you

Enter your ZIP to sort by distance.

Type

15 programs

  1. Advance Tank & Construction LLC

    Wellington · Larimer County

    Open shop

  2. Ames Construction

    Aurora · Adams County

    Open shop

  3. Colorado Carpenters & Affiliated Trades JATC

    Denver · Denver County

    Union

  4. Construction Industry Training Council (CITC) of Colorado Inc

    Denver · Denver County

    School

    citcinc.org

  5. Construction Industry Training Council of Colorado, Inc.

    Denver · Denver County

    Open shop

  6. CRG Construction Inc

    Bayfield · La Plata County

    Open shop

  7. Great Southwestern Construction, Inc.

    Castle Rock · Douglas County

    Open shop

  8. Hands of The Carpenter

    Golden · Jefferson County

    Open shop

  9. Industrial Construction MGR

    Commerce City · Adams County

    Open shop

  10. Innovative Construction Co.

    Windsor · Weld County

    Open shop

  11. Interstate Highway Construction IHC

    Centennial · Arapahoe County

    Open shop

  12. LPR Construction (Ironworker)

    Loveland · Larimer County

    Open shop

  13. Moltz Construction, Inc

    Centennial · Arapahoe County

    Open shop

  14. National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER)

    Aurora · Adams County

    School

  15. ZAP Engineering & Construction Services, Inc.

    Lakewood · Jefferson County

    Open shop

    zapecs.com

Union or open shop?

Union

Run by the regional Carpenters training committee. You apply to the committee, take an aptitude test and an interview, and wait on a ranked list. The committee sends you to its contractors.

Pay is a set share of the union journey-level rate and steps up on a schedule. Classes are nights or week-long blocks, usually paid for by the program.

Open shop

Run by ABC, AGC or a single builder. You usually get hired by a member contractor first, and the contractor enrolls you.

Your employer sets the pay and the raises. Classes are nights or weekends, and some programs charge tuition.

What do programs ask for?

Applying this month

  1. Get your papers together1 week

    High school transcript or GED, a photo ID, and your birth certificate or proof of age. Programs that ask for algebra want the transcript that shows it.

    Time
    1 week
  2. Practice for the aptitude test2 to 4 weeks

    Union programs test algebra and reading. A few evenings with a practice test helps your ranking.

    Time
    2 to 4 weeks
  3. Pick three programs and check their dates1 evening

    Union programs take applications in set windows, some once a year. Open-shop programs and employer programs often take them year-round.

    Time
    1 evening
    Back to the program list
  4. Apply, then keep working

    Apply to all three. While you wait, a helper or trainee job with a licensed contractor gives you hours and a reference.

    The license steps

Can't get in yet?

Pre-apprenticeship

Short programs, often free, that teach the basics and help with the application. Ask the programs above which ones they take graduates from.

Start on a crew

Licensed contractors hire helpers with no experience. Keep a log of your hours and employers; many programs and license boards count them. If you'd rather learn the basics first, 10 schools in Colorado have general contractor programs.

The license steps in Colorado

How do you get into a general contractor apprenticeship in Colorado?

Pick programs near you, check each one's website for its application dates, and apply to more than one. Union programs test and interview, then rank applicants; open-shop programs usually start once a member contractor hires you.

How much do general contractor apprentices make in Colorado?

Programs set their own scales, usually a share of journey-level pay that rises every year. For a floor, the lowest-paid tenth of all general contractors in Colorado earned $28.72 an hour or less in May 2025.

General Contractor pay in Colorado

Other routes in Colorado

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Labor, apprenticeship.gov registered apprenticeship partners (apprenticeship.gov)
  2. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Colorado, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)