GET PAID TO
LEARN A TRADE
Start at $28.21 an hour — no experience needed
Learn the trade on real job sites, alongside journeymen who build and protect roofs across the Northwest. Graduate in four years at full journeyman scale of $47.01 an hour — with no student loans, ever.
Pay, benefits, and a career
Earn while you learn
You work for a union contractor and earn union wages from your very first week — $28.21/hr to start, with raises on a written schedule.
Union wages & benefits
Medical, dental, and chiropractic coverage. Two pensions plus a supplemental plan. It's all in the contract, for every apprentice, from the start.
A career, not a job
Apprentice today. Journeyman at $47.01/hr in four years. From there: foreman, superintendent, safety director, instructor — even your own company.
Three steps to a paycheck
1
Apply
If you're 18 or older with a photo ID and a diploma, GED, or NCRC certificate, you're a candidate. No application fee.
2
Interview & orientation
A friendly conversation about your goals, then a half-day orientation to get you set up.
3
Start earning
You're dispatched to a union contractor and collect a paycheck your first week on the job.
The raise schedule is in writing
$28.21
starting wage / hr
→
$47.01
journeyman scale in 4 years
Current union contract figures — confirmed July 2026.
WHO WE ARE
Training the Northwest's roofers and waterproofers
We're the Oregon & SW Washington Roofers and Waterproofers Apprenticeship & Training Fund (Local 49). We train union roofing and waterproofing apprentices at our training center in Portland, Oregon — with paid on-the-job training, real classroom instruction, and no student loans. Our graduates build and protect the homes, schools, and hospitals of the Northwest.
WOMEN IN ROOFING
Women build here
Same contract. Same scale. Same career. See how women are building careers — and community — in the trade, and join us at the annual June hands-on workshop.
FOLLOW ALONG
On rooftops, in the training center, out in the community — see what our apprentices are working on.
CURRENT APPRENTICE?
Class registration, schedules, and progress reports live in your portal.
Ready to start earning?
Applying takes a visit and a conversation — and it starts a career that can carry you for decades. We'd love to meet you.