Power Up Your Future with a Career in the Electrical Field
ACC offers an Apprentice — Electrical Apprenticeship Certificate and an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) in Electrical Maintenance Technician degree program.
In the Certificate program, you learn how to perform electrical wiring for residential, commercial, and industrial facilities. You’ll be taught the fundamentals of electrical wiring and motor controls, blueprint reading, measuring instruments, safety and code requirements, and mathematical applications.
Once you’ve earned your basic certification, you can obtain an advanced certificate by completing courses in digital and linear electronics for electricians.
The AAS in Electrical Maintenance Technician degree program provides you with your basic and advanced electrical certification. You’ll also complete additional technical and specialty electives, plus general education courses required of all AAS degree programs.
The apprenticeship certificate program is Bureau of Apprenticeship Training (BAT) certified and can be completed in one year. The curriculum meets industry standards for this skilled trade, and revised core, basic, and advanced courses allow previously-trained workers to take only the courses needed to upgrade their skills without committing to an entire program.
Preparation
Before starting any program at ACC, a student’s academic background, assessment scores, or testing results are reviewed to determine the right courses to take. Review classes are also available to prepare students to meet the academic requirements of these programs.
Certification
Most states require electricians to be licensed. To become a certified journeyman electrician in Michigan, you must complete at least 8,000 work hours and pass a state journeyman examination. Once you are certified, you can complete additional years of full-time work toward your certification as a master electrician or an electrical contractor.
Ferris H. Werth Electrical Power Technology Center
Opened in 2015, the Ferris H. Werth Electrical Power Technology Center is a $5 million project supported by
the State of Michigan and private financial resources. The EPTC allows ACC to transform its Utility Technology and Electrical Apprenticeship programs into a comprehensive set of offerings.
The new facility helps support training for emerging, sustainable, and green technologies as well as existing modes of power generation, transmission, distribution, and use.
The addition includes three classrooms, a computer lab, two equipment labs, a high bay lab, a conference room,
five offices, and bays for bucket trucks and other pieces of heavy equipment.
Career Options
As an electrical apprentice, your responsibilities include installing, connecting, testing, and maintaining electrical systems for a variety of purposes, including climate control, security, and communications. Using blueprints, you work with wires or cables, circuit breakers, transformers, or other components. You may also be required to inspect equipment and locate and correct problems before or as they arise.
Employment of electricians is expected to increase by 9% through 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations. Your average salary depends on the size, type, and location of your employer, as well as your skill and experience level. Median hourly earnings of electricians were $29.98 in 2024*. Apprentices receive less pay than fully trained electricians, but their pay increases as they learn to do more.
Work schedules may include evenings and weekends and may vary during times of inclement weather. During scheduled maintenance or on construction sites, electricians should expect to work overtime. Self-employed electricians often work in residential construction and may be able to set their own schedule.
*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh (visited March 23, 2026)