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General Contractor apprenticeships in Iowa
Iowa has 23 registered general contractor apprenticeship programs: 2 union and 21 open shop.1 Apprentices are hired and paid while they learn.
Find a program near you
Enter your ZIP to sort by distance.
23 programs
A-Lert Construction Services (ABC)
Urbana · Benton County
Absolute Concrete Construction, Inc. (ABC)
Granger · Polk County
Archer Daniels Midland /Adm (Construction)
Clinton · Clinton County
Cardinal Construction INC
Waterloo · Black Hawk County
Central/Western Iowa Carpenters JATC Local Union 106
Altoona · Polk County
Complete Construction Services Plumbing, HVAC & Electrical (The Ceu Authority)
Oskaloosa · Mahaska County
Five Rivers Carpenters JATC Local Unions 308 678 &1260
Cedar Rapids · Linn County
Hawkeye Community College (Construction & Logistics)
Cedar Falls · Black Hawk County
Henkel Construction
Mason City · Cerro Gordo County
Jq Construction LLC
Washburn · Black Hawk County
K & L Dolan Construction
Dubuque · Dubuque County
Kading Construction (ABC)
Urbandale · Polk County
Kingland Construction
Forest City · Winnebago County
McCabe Construction and Electric LLC
Decorah · Winneshiek County
McCarty Creek Construction, LLC (ABC)
Le Claire · Scott County
Murphy Construction Group LLC (ABC)
Dubuque · Dubuque County
Reilly Construction Company INC. (ABC)
Ossian · Winneshiek County
Sampson Construction, Inc. (ABC)
Grimes · Polk County
Snyder Construction
Clear Lake · Cerro Gordo County
Total Construction Solutions Co. (ABC)
Davenport · Scott County
Tricon Construction
Dubuque · Dubuque County
Tricon Construction Group
Dubuque · Dubuque County
Van's Electric & Construction INC (The Ceu Authority)
New Sharon · Mahaska County
No programs match. Clear the county or type filter, or try a nearby ZIP.
Union locals and training centers in Iowa
Call the local or its training center for the next application date.
Carpenters union locals
- Carpenters Local 4Davenport
- Carpenters Local 106Altoona
- Carpenters Local 308Cedar Rapids
- Carpenters Local 678Dubuque
- Carpenters Local 948Sioux City
- Carpenters Local 1260Iowa City
- Carpenters Local 2060Altoona
Training
Union carpentry apprenticeships run through the regional council's training centers. Carpenters regional council finder
Home builder associations
- HBA of Iowa400 E Court Ave Ste 240, Des Moines(515) 278-0255
- Ames Home Builders AssociationPO Box 864, Ames(515) 460-5550
- Quad Cities Builders & Remodelers Association3528 Jersey Ridge Rd, Davenport(563) 441-5692
- Greater Cedar Rapids Housing & Building Assn.350 Miller Rd Ste 1, Hiawatha(319) 395-0778
- HBA of Iowa City11 S Gilbert St, Iowa City(319) 351-5333
- HBA of Greater Des Moines6751 Corporate Dr, Johnston(515) 270-8500
- HBA of Greater Siouxland3900 Stadium Dr, Sioux City(712) 255-3852
- Northwest Iowa HBAPO Box 331, Spirit Lake(712) 336-3901
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?
Age
Usually 18. Some programs take applications at 17.
High school diploma or GED
Most programs ask for one. Bring a transcript.
Aptitude test or interview
Union programs give an aptitude test (math and reading) and an interview, then rank applicants. Open-shop programs usually start with a job offer.
Driver's license and drug screen
Many programs ask for both, since apprentices drive between job sites.
Applying this month
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
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
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
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.
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, 5 schools in Iowa have general contractor programs.
The license steps in IowaHow do you get into a general contractor apprenticeship in Iowa?
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 Iowa?
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 Iowa earned $27.24 an hour or less in May 2025.
General Contractor pay in IowaOther routes in Iowa
Sources
- U.S. Department of Labor, apprenticeship.gov registered apprenticeship partners (apprenticeship.gov)
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Iowa, May 2025 (bls.gov, May 2025)