Michigan Apprenticeship Programs
As of September 2026, Michigan operates one of the larger registered-apprenticeship systems in the country: 31,000 active apprentices in 1,150 programs, with completion pay near $29.50/hour.
- Active apprentices
- 31,000
- National rank
- #8 / 51
- Completion rate
- 58.9%
- Completion wage
- $30
Michigan ranks #8 of 51 jurisdictions by active registered apprentices - about 3.7% of all U.S. registered apprentices. Its 58.9% completion rate sits 0.7 pts above the 58.2% national average, and apprentices who finish raise their pay by 84% - from $16 to $30 an hour.
Apprenticeship filing desk
Jurisdiction MI · Michigan
Michigan registered-apprenticeship filing: 31,000 active apprentices (rank 8/51), 1,150 programs, 58.9% completion.
- BOOK-LARGE 31,000
- RANK-UPPER #8
- PROG-MID 1,150
- COMP-MID 58.9%
- WAGE-STRONG +84%
- SHARE-MID 3.7%
- NEW-FY 7,800
Nearest enrollment peer: Wisconsin (3,000 apprentice gap)
U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship filing stamps for this jurisdiction. Read: apprenticeships vs college
Where Michigan sits among all 51 jurisdictions
Enrollment by jurisdiction; Michigan sits in the top tercile. Inventory size is not a quality ranking.
Michigan vs all states by active apprentices
Where this state's DOL registered-apprenticeship enrollment sits among every tracked jurisdiction
31,000 8th of 51 higher than 43 of 51 states
States and territories, banded by active apprentices
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more states. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data · 2026-09-25
Source: U.S. Department of Labor registered-apprenticeship data, compiled by PlainWorkforce.
Reading Michigan's numbers
What stands out in this state's DOL filing, most distinctive first. Every figure below is computed from the state's own row in the dataset.
The signature stat: program size
Michigan's most unusual number is program size: 27 apprentices per registered program, larger than 86% of states.
Where the scale sits
31,000 active apprentices rank 8 of 51 nationally, 3.7% of all registered enrollment.
Completion near the average
A 58.9% completion rate holds within two points of the national average (58.2%).
Slow intake pipeline
Intake is the soft spot. 7,800 new apprentices against 31,000 active is a 25.2% replacement rate, in the bottom tercile of states; the base renews more slowly than almost everywhere else.
Strong wage progression
Wages move further here than in most states: $16.00/hour at entry to $29.50 at completion, a 84.4% climb versus the 82.7% national norm.
Michigan's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations, ranked by AI-exposure score, most sit well below the 37% occupation-wide average (the dotted line), which is exactly why the trades are AI-resilient. Bars link to the full occupation profile where tracked.
- Electrician 13%
- Sheet Metal Worker 23%
- Plumber 27%
- Carpenter 28%
- Pipefitter -
AI-exposure scores are PlainWorkforce's analysis of O*NET task data; the 37% line is the average across all 832 tracked occupations. Lower = more AI-resilient.
Frequently asked questions
How many apprentices does Michigan have?
31,000 active registered apprentices — rank 8 of 51 jurisdictions — spread over about 1,150 registered programs.
What is the apprenticeship completion rate in Michigan?
Roughly 58.9%, effectively at the national average of 58.2%.
How much do apprentices earn in Michigan?
Starting pay averages $16.00/hour and completion pay $29.50 — a 84.4% increase, among the strongest wage progressions of any state.
What are the top apprenticeship trades in Michigan?
The dataset's largest registered-apprenticeship occupations for Michigan are Electrician, Plumber, Pipefitter, Sheet Metal Worker, Carpenter — construction trades dominate registered apprenticeship in every state.
Why is Michigan's apprentice pipeline slow?
The data shows the symptom, not the cause: 7,800 new registrations against 31,000 active apprentices is a 25.2% intake ratio, bottom-tercile nationally. The dataset does not record why sponsors register fewer new apprentices here.
Compare other states
Where this leaves you
Use Michigan's apprenticeship numbers above to plan a specific trade path, not just compare states.
- Real wage and growth numbers weigh an apprenticeship path against a college degree. Apprenticeships vs college
- Check wage and AI exposure for a specific trade in the full occupation directory. Browse all occupations
- The occupations projected to add the most jobs through 2034 are worth a look. Fastest-growing occupations
U.S. Department of Labor Registered Apprenticeship data is the source here; enrollment and completion both vary by program and year.
Every figure on PlainWorkforce is rendered directly from BLS/O*NET source data, no number is typed in by an editor. Enrollment and wage figures are rounded. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these figures, or report a data error. Data current as of U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Registered Apprenticeship (active apprentices, registered programs, completion rates, and wages by state), O*NET (occupation task data, for the linked AI-exposure scores).