4-Year Apprentice Training Program is a Certificate / Apprenticeship Diploma program (Hybrid) offered by IEC Dakotas in Rapid City, SD. The program takes 4 years (8 semesters) to complete.
General Requirements
- Employment by a licensed electrical contractor is required by the current self-registration attestation.
- 8,000 hours of on-the-job training are required for the four-year program.
- New students without formal classroom training enter Year 1; technical-school graduates enter Year 2 unless their contractor chooses another year; other formal education requires transcript review.
- Testing out of Year 1 requires more than 2,000 verified OJT hours; testing out of Year 2 requires more than 4,000 verified OJT hours, and vocational/college graduates may also choose the Year 2 test.
- A minimum 70% overall semester average is required; the A&T Committee reviews progression after every semester.
- One conditional pass at 67–70% may be granted during the entire eight-semester program.
- Three unexcused absences result in dismissal for classroom and live-online students.
- Midterm and final examinations must be proctored.
Application Process
- 1Submit ApplicationComplete the online application form with your personal information and educational background.
- 2Submit TranscriptsProvide official high school transcripts or GED certificate. Some programs may require additional documentation.
- 3Financial AidComplete the FAFSA to determine eligibility for federal financial aid. Meet with a financial aid advisor to review your options.Complete FAFSA Application
- 4EnrollmentOnce accepted, complete enrollment paperwork, register for classes, and attend orientation.
School Information
Campus Location
Why Accreditation Is Important
When you attend an accredited institution, you are attending a school that has undergone a rigorous process that evaluates educational quality. It's not easy to become or remain an accredited institution. The rules and regulations are strict, precise and designed to protect students. Here are some of the benefits:
- A reliable indicator of quality
- Approved program of study
- Qualified instructors
- Recognition by employers nationwide
Published curriculum and sequence
Years 1–4 / Semesters 1–8
Every year contains two semesters and every semester contains 18 weekly lessons. Each lesson requires 4–7 hours of study and consists of reading, homework, and a quiz. Each semester also contains a midterm and final. IEC publishes a minimum 144 related-instruction hours per year (576 total) plus 8,000 OJT hours.
Assessment and progression
- Homework 25%: weekly, two attempts before the following-week deadline.
- Weekly quizzes 25%: 10 questions, 30 minutes, one attempt.
- Midterm 25%: proctored four-hour multiple-choice examination covering the first half; two attempts, with alternate IEC-hosted online dates.
- Final 25%: proctored four-hour multiple-choice examination covering the second half; same attempt process.
- Optional practical labs may add up to 10% extra credit at instructor/IEC discretion.
- 70% passes. The A&T Committee steps students after each semester; a single 67–70% conditional pass may be used across all eight semesters.
Completion
A semester certificate is mailed to the contractor after each successful semester. After eight semesters, graduates receive an IEC National diploma; federally registered graduates also receive a U.S. Department of Labor diploma.
Granularity/source audit
No course/subject-by-year outline is published in the audited first-party sources. The current 4-Year Program page publishes only the year/semester/lesson structure, study components, totals, delivery, completion and tuition. The 2025–26 Student Manual publishes placement, assessment, progression, attendance, delivery and completion rules plus year/location instructor tables, but no lesson names, course codes, year-specific subjects, prerequisites between subjects, or hour allocation by subject. The 2026–27 location supplement publishes section nights, instructors, locations and the August 24 start week, but no curriculum subjects. The official Downloads page links the manual and supplement and contains no curriculum/course-outline download. The Accreditation page publishes only annual/total instruction and OJT hours. Therefore the structure above is complete as to what those sources publish, but is explicitly not represented as a complete subject list.
Published costs
| Option | Tuition | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Member contractor apprentice | $1,835 | per year |
| Non-member | $2,295 | per year |
No universal tuition/total is stored. Current NEC access is mandatory but unpriced. No separate application fee is published.
Governing sources
- https://www.iecdakotas.com/electrician-classes/
- https://www.iecdakotas.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Student-Handbook.pdf
- https://www.iecdakotas.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/2026-27-Class-Times-and-Locations.pdf
- https://www.iecdakotas.com/downloads/
- https://www.iecdakotas.com/accreditation/
School Information
Campus Location
Why Accreditation Is Important
When you attend an accredited institution, you are attending a school that has undergone a rigorous process that evaluates educational quality. It's not easy to become or remain an accredited institution. The rules and regulations are strict, precise and designed to protect students. Here are some of the benefits:
- A reliable indicator of quality
- Approved program of study
- Qualified instructors
- Recognition by employers nationwide