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Home / Roofers / Illinois / Apprenticeships

Roofer apprenticeships in Illinois

Illinois has 9 registered roofer apprenticeship programs: 5 union and 4 open shop.1 Apprentices are hired and paid while they learn.

Find a program near you

Enter your ZIP to sort by distance.

Type

9 programs

  1. Chicagoland Roofers' Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee

    Indian Head Park · Cook County

    Union

  2. Csr Roofing

    Oak Park · Cook County

    Open shop

  3. Messing Roofing

    Peoria · Peoria County

    Open shop

  4. Quad City Roofers JATC Local #32

    Rock Island · Rock Island County

    Union

  5. Quality Roofing Pro

    Monmouth · Warren County

    Open shop

  6. Renaissance Roofing, Inc

    Belvidere · Boone County

    Open shop

  7. United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers Local 112

    Springfield · Sangamon County

    Union

  8. United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers Local 69

    Peoria · Peoria County

    Union

  9. United Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers Local 97

    Newman · Douglas County

    Union

Union locals and training centers in Illinois

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

Roofers union locals

  • Roofers Local 11Oak Brook
  • Roofers Local 32Rock Island
  • Roofers Local 69Peoria
  • Roofers Local 97Newman
  • Roofers Local 112Springfield

Training

Roofers locals run their apprenticeship through a joint committee with union contractors.

Contractor associations

The national trade group for roofing contractors is the National Roofing Contractors Association.

Union or open shop?

Union

Run by the Roofers union local's joint 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 a roofing contractor or a contractors' association. 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.

The license steps in Illinois

How do you get into a roofer apprenticeship in Illinois?

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 roofer apprentices make in Illinois?

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 roofers in Illinois earned $22.41 an hour or less in May 2025.

Roofer pay in Illinois

Other routes in Illinois

Sources

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