Electrician Schools in Hawaii (Top Programs)

The demand for electricians in the State of Hawaii is still on the rise, especially because the commercial and residential properties are still developing for the many retirees relocating here.

These professionals need to obtain a license from the Board of Electricians and Plumbers, which is part of the Professional & Vocational Licensing Division of Hawaii.

Your career path will generally look like this:

• Apprentice
• Journeyman
• Supervising electrician
• Electrical contractor

Being an Apprentice

In Hawaii, electrician apprentices need to accumulate:

• At least 10,000 hours of hands-on experience performing electrical work under an electrical contractor
• 240 hours of classroom education

There are 2 ways to accumulate these hours:

• Enrolling in a technical college and finding job placement as a trainee
• Joining the union trade organization for a traditional apprenticeship program

Technical College

The most common electrical certificate available in Hawaii through a technical college is in Electrical Installation and Maintenance Technology (EIMT).

The state colleges across Hawaii are approving providers of training programs for electricians.

These programs ensure students acquire all needed skills and knowledge to be accepted in entry-level positions.

Apprenticeship Programs

In Hawaii, union apprenticeship programs can be found through the Hawaii Electricians Training Fund (HETF).

To be accepted in the HETF apprenticeship, you must:

• Be 18 years old
• Have a high school diploma/GED
• Pass a general aptitude test
• Be physically healthy and able to perform the tasks on the job
• Pass an interview
• Have passing grades in an algebra class in high school
• Must be a US Citizen if working on military bases

Those who didn’t pass the algebra class in high school, can cake an online class and prove they passed this one instead.

Applications are generally kept for 2 years for those who are not accepted on their first try.

Become Licensed

In Hawaii, those who complete their training can choose to obtain one of the 4 electrician licenses available:

• Journey Worker Electrician – Performs basic electrical tasks under general supervision
• Journey Worker Specialty Electrician – Can only install, repair, alter and maintain
• Journey Worker Industrial Electrician – Can only maintain substations, switch-gears, automatic controls, and other industrial electrical work in existing industrial buildings and workplaces.
• Maintenance Electrician – Can only maintain existing electrical installations

Each license has different experience requirements:

• Journey Worker Specialty Electrician – at least 6,000 hours of electrical work experience and 120 hours of classroom education
• Journey Worker Industrial Electrician – at least 8,000 hours of electrical work experience in an industrial setting and 200 hours of classroom education.
• Maintenance Electrician – 1 year of electrical maintenance experience and at least 80 hours of classroom instruction

For the last license, individuals can use 2 years of schooling in the electrical trade and 1,000 hours of hands-on technical training instead.

The site of the Board has more in-depth details related to the requirements for each license.

To obtain the license, you’ll have to pass an exam that you can take if your application gets approved.

The passing score is  70%.

The journey worker electrician exam lasts for 3 hours, has 70 multiple choice questions, and candidates can consult the National Electric Code throughout its duration.

The exam covers:

• General Electrical Knowledge
• Raceways and Enclosures
• Services, Feeders, and Branch Circuits
• Conductors and Cables
• Grounding and Bonding
• Equipment for General Use
• Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions
• Motors and Controls
• Low Voltage and Communications Circuits
• Safety

The journey worker specialty electrician exam lasts for 2 hours.

During this test with 50 multiple choice questions, candidates can use the National Electric Code.

The questions will cover:

• General Electrical Knowledge
• Fire Detection and Alarm Systems
• Intrusion Detection and Alarm Systems
• Raceways and Enclosures
• Conductors and Cables
• Grounding and Bonding
• Special Occupancies and Equipment
• Low Voltage and Communications Circuits

During the journey worker industrial electrician exam, candidates can use the National Electric Code as they answer the 70 multiple-choice questions.

The breakdown of the topics on this 3-hours exam is:

• General Electrical Knowledge
• Raceways and Enclosures
• Services, Feeders, and Branch Circuits
• Conductors and Cables
• Grounding and Bonding
• Motors and Controls
• Equipment for General Use
• Special Occupancies and Equipment
• Low Voltage Circuits

Supervising Electrician License

Journeymen electricians in Hawaii can obtain a license as a supervisor electrician, after a set number of years.

There are only 3 types of supervising electrician licenses available:

• Supervising electrician (ES) – Can direct, supervise and perform electrical work
• Supervising specialty electrician (ESS) – Can direct and supervise electrical work related to installation, repair, alteration, and maintenance, but not attaching lighting and power circuits to multiple systems.
• Supervising industrial electrician (EIS) – Can direct and supervise electrically related to substation, switchgear, automatic controls, and all other electrical work done on existing industrial buildings and workplaces.

To obtain the supervising electrician, you must work for 4 years as a journey worker electrician.

For the supervising specialty electrician license, you must work for 2 years as a journey worker specialty electrician.

To get the supervising industrial electrician license, you need 3 years of experience as a journey worker industrial electrician.

For each of these licenses, candidates also need to pass the corresponding exam.

Only those whose applications are approved can schedule and take the exams which are passed with a score of over 70%.

The exam for the supervising electrician license has a duration of 3 hours.

To answer the 70 multiple choice questions, candidates can look in the National Electric Code.

The exam is three hours long, has, and is an open book. You can use 2008  on the exam.

The topics cover:

• General Electrical Knowledge
• Raceways and Enclosures
• Services, Feeders, and Branch Circuits
• Conductors and Cables
• Grounding and Bonding
• Equipment for General Use
• Special Occupancies, Equipment, and Conditions
• Motors and Controls
• Low Voltage and Communication Circuits
• Safety

The exam for the supervising specialty electrician must be completed in 2 hours.

The National Electric Code can be used to answer the 50 multiple-choice questions.

The topics are from the following areas:

• General Electrical Knowledge
• Fire Detection and Alarm Systems –
• Intrusion Detection and Alarm Systems
• Raceways and Enclosures
• Conductors and Cables
• Grounding and Bonding
• Special Occupancies and Equipment
• Low Voltage and Communications Circuits

For the supervising industrial electrician exam that is 3 hours long, candidates can use the National Electric Code to solve the 70 multiple-choice questions.

The topics are from these areas:

• General Electrical Knowledge
• Raceways and Enclosures
• Services, Feeders, and Branch Circuits
• Conductors and Cables
• Grounding and Bonding
• Motors and Controls
• Equipment for General Use
• Special Occupancies and Equipment
• High and Low Voltage Circuits

Independent Electrical Contractor

A specialty contractor that is registered with the State, can sell their services to the public in Hawaii.

These contractor licenses are issued and regulated by the Contractors Licensing Board.

To obtain a specialty contractor license, individuals need to first decide if they are contracting as the sole proprietor of the company, or as a corporate entity.

There is a different application for each type of proprietorship.

The requirements for applying as a corporate entity are:

• Register with the Business Registration Division
• Have an honest, fair reputation
• Have liability
• Have worker’s compensation insurance
• A designated Responsible Managing Employee

The Responsible Managing Employee must pass the trade exam beforehand.

Those applying as a sole proprietor, must:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Have 4 years of supervised experience
• Have an honest, fair reputation
• Liability and worker’s compensation insurance
• Pass an exam in the electrician classification

The worker’s compensation insurance has to be obtained from an insurance company approved to do business in Hawaii.

The application must be filled out first.

Then, the contractor’s financial statement must be completed.

Those who are approved, need to pass two exams:

• The C-13 Electrical Contractor Exam
• The Hawaiian Contractor Exam

The insurance proof is done by those who passed the exam.

General liability insurance must have the following levels:

• Bodily Injury Liability – $100,000 per person and $300,000 per occurrence
• Property Damage Liability – $50,000 per occurrence

Salary

In general, apprenticeships positions are also paid, though less than licensed electricians.

Regional Salary in Hawaii

License Renewal

The journeyman license must be renewed every 3 years.

This can be done by continuing the education with a class that covers the changes to the National Electric Code, which also updates every 3 years.

Every 3 years the supervisor license has to be renewed.

This is done by staying up-to-date with the National Electric Code that is changed every 3 years as well.

The contractor license is renewed every 2 years, and their holders are usually notified 45 days before the deadline.

Electrician Schools by City

Electrician Schools by State