South Louisiana Community College has launched a registered electrical apprenticeship at its New Iberia campus, giving Acadiana residents a paid, four-year path to becoming journeyman electricians without first joining a union or a single company's training roster. The program blends classroom instruction through the college with on-the-job training at participating employers, and organizers say it is designed to grow as more businesses sign on.
The initiative, first reported by the Modesto Bee, makes SoLAcc the first college in Louisiana's community and technical college system to offer this kind of registered apprenticeship through a non-credit workforce program, according to the report. Unlike traditional electrical training routes in Louisiana, which have often run through union joint committees or merit-shop trade associations, the SoLAcc model lets individual local employers participate directly with the college rather than through a broader trade group.
The push came from the private sector. Gridic Electrical Services founder Jonas Hebert approached SoLAcc about the regional shortage of trained electricians and the need for local skilled-talent development, per the same report. Hebert said employers face a shortage of trained electricians and that many young people could succeed in the trades if given a clear path into the industry.
How the Four-Year Track Works
The four-year apprenticeship combines classroom instruction with on-the-job training. Federal registered-apprenticeship rules set a time-based minimum of 2,000 on-the-job hours and recommend 144 hours of related instruction per year.
The arrangement allows apprentices to learn in class, apply that knowledge at work, earn pay, and progress toward a recognized career, the Bee's report notes. Jobe Gwin, workforce director of construction and industrial trades for SoLAcc's economic and workforce development division, said the model gives local employers flexibility to help develop the skilled workforce they need. SoLAcc and its participating employers will jointly provide both the classroom instruction and the hands-on experience apprentices need to progress.
The new four-year track builds on a shorter option SoLAcc has run previously: a 300-hour, non-credit Electrical Training Program lasting 17 to 19 weeks across the college's Opelousas, Lafayette, and New Iberia campuses, with tuition set at $6,000, according to South Louisiana Community College. That shorter course offers foundational electrical theory and code training, while the new apprenticeship pairs classroom instruction with paid employer partnerships.
Licensing Still Runs Through City Hall, Not the State
Louisiana does not issue a statewide journeyman electrician license. Instead, individual journeyman licensing is handled at the municipal or parish level, while the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors only regulates statewide contractor licensing for projects exceeding $10,000, per Workiz. That patchwork means apprentices finishing SoLAcc's program will still need to meet whatever local credentialing rules apply wherever they end up working in Acadiana.
Why the Timing Matters in Iberia Parish
The apprenticeship arrives as Iberia Parish braces for a wave of new industrial hiring. Turner Industries announced plans in April to build a nuclear fabrication facility at the Port of Iberia, a project Hoodline previously reported carries an average salary of $77,000 and is projected to create 500 direct local jobs. That kind of industrial demand helps explain why regional employers are looking for faster, more flexible ways to build a skilled trades pipeline.
The numbers suggest steady, if modest, financial upside for those who complete the training. Electricians in Louisiana had an annual median wage of $61,540 and an hourly mean wage of $29.98; the national annual mean wage was $71,490, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, employment for electricians is projected to grow 9 percent from 2025 to 2035, faster than the average for all occupations, with roughly 72,700 job openings projected each year over the decade, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports.
SoLAcc said it plans to grow the apprenticeship program by bringing more electrical employers on board, with participating companies able to employ apprentices, provide on-the-job training, and help prepare skilled electricians across Acadiana.
Electrical employers and interested individuals can learn more at www.solacc.edu/electricalapprentice or by calling SoLAcc Workforce at (337) 521-9028.
