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Home / Plumbers / Kansas / Apprenticeships

Plumber apprenticeships in Kansas

Kansas has 10 registered plumber apprenticeship programs: 0 union and 10 open shop.1 Apprentices are hired and paid while they learn.

Find a program near you

Enter your ZIP to sort by distance.

10 programs

  1. DeHart Plumbing, Heating & Cooling

    Manhattan · Riley County

    Open shop

    dehartplumbing.com
  2. Joe The Plumber DBA Blue Duck Plumbing

    Lawrence · Douglas County

    Open shop

  3. Learned Plumbing

    Lawrence · Douglas County

    Open shop

  4. Pat Plumbing Heating and Air

    Topeka · Shawnee County

    Open shop

  5. Piper USD 203

    Kansas City · Wyandotte County

    Open shop

  6. Plumbers and Pipefitters Apprentice Training of Kansas

    Wichita · Sedgwick County

    Open shop

  7. Prairie Plumbing, LLC

    Salina · Saline County

    Open shop

  8. Rincks Dwood Plumbing LLC

    Independence · Montgomery County

    Open shop

  9. Tatro Plumbing Company, Inc.

    Garden City · Finney County

    Open shop

  10. Westlake Pipe & Fittings

    McPherson · McPherson County

    Open shop

Union locals and training centers in Kansas

Call the local or its training center for the next application date.

UA union locals

Training

UA apprenticeships run through a joint committee of the local and union contractors. Call the local for the next application date.

PHCC chapters

Union or open shop?

Union

Run by a joint committee run by the United Association (UA) local and union contractors. 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 PHCC, ABC or a single plumbing contractor. 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, 7 schools in Kansas have plumber programs.

The license steps in Kansas

How do you get into a plumber apprenticeship in Kansas?

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 plumber apprentices make in Kansas?

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 plumbers in Kansas earned $18.81 an hour or less in May 2025.

Plumber pay in Kansas

Other routes in Kansas

Sources

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