New skills
Hands-on training on real jobs, plus ongoing training as you grow into licensing and new kinds of work.
Apprenticeships · Norfolk, Winchester & Wilmington
Get paid to learn a trade for life.
- Paid from day one
- Learn beside experienced techs
- No experience needed
- Plumbing or heating & cooling
Plenty of our techs started with zero trade experience.
New to the trades? Let's talk.
Call your local branch during office hours and ask for the general manager. Tell us a bit about yourself. No resume needed.
(540) 665-8196
How it works
From apprentice to technician, and beyond
Program length, licensing steps and pay at each stage are confirmed with your branch when you start.
- ApprenticeRide along with an experienced technician. Learn the tools, the codes and how to treat a customer's home, and get paid while you learn.
- TechnicianRun your own calls in your own stocked truck, with a lead tech and manager a phone call away.
- Lead or specialistTake on installs, septic, wells or commercial work, or train the next apprentice.
- ManagerLead a team, or a whole branch. Our Wilmington general manager started as a technician.
We invest in you
Skills, tools and someone in your corner
Good tools
You learn on a stocked Powell's truck, with the right equipment for the job.
Room to grow
We'd rather promote from within. The path from apprentice to manager is real here.
Career changers
Where our people started
Brandon
Came to the trades from phlebotomy and an auto shop. On a hot summer day, he had the AC back on for a family with a new baby and elderly parents before the crew left.
Miles
Started out in masonry. Twelve years in the trade later, he's the plumber Norfolk customers ask for by name.
Jason
Eighteen years with the branch, from technician to service manager to running the whole thing.
Who it's for
What you need to start
- 🚚A valid driver's licenceYou'll ride along, then drive, to jobs across your branch's area.
- 🛡️A background check and drug testCustomers let us into their homes, so every customer-facing employee passes both.
- 🔧The drive to learnNo experience needed. Mechanical, auto or construction experience helps.
- 🤝Good with peopleYou'll explain the problem to customers, not just fix it.
Apply
Start your apprenticeship.
Tell us which branch and which trade. That's it. A resume is optional.
Apply for the apprenticeship program
Call the branch you’d like to work from and ask for the general manager, or send a message with your name, phone number and the role you’re interested in.
- Norfolk(757) 466-0644or send a message
- Winchester(540) 665-8196or send a message
- Wilmington(910) 793-6760or send a message
A resume is optional. We’ll call you back to talk through the job.
Apprenticeship questions
Good to know
Every branch is a little different. Call and ask.
Do I need experience? +
No. We train people who are new to the trades.
Am I paid while I train? +
Yes. Apprentices are paid employees. Your branch will go over pay on your first call.
How long does it take? +
It depends on the trade and the license you're working toward. Your branch will walk you through the steps.
Which trades can I learn? +
Plumbing at all three branches. Heating and cooling in Winchester and Wilmington, and in Norfolk from January 2027.
Already licensed?
We're hiring plumbers and HVAC technicians too. See all careers at Powell's