Short answer: If you know you will miss class, contact your training office immediately. Ask whether a make-up is required, how to schedule it, and whether you can continue working while it is pending. Texas programs put attendance rules in writing: South Texas Electrical JATC suspends your training assignment until you complete the required make-up and receive a return-to-work slip. IEC Dallas requires missed classes to be made up before the end of the semester in which they occurred. If you are stuck on a topic rather than behind on attendance, ask your instructor first, then practice with questions until the topic feels routine.
Starting your first year as a Texas apprentice? The US$19 Texas First-Year Electrical Apprentice Kit gives you printable pages for the first months on the job: a tool-check card, a who-to-ask list with a short stop-and-ask script, emergency-contact and heat-and-rest cards, plus a Tool budget sheet and a Tool inventory sheet (CSV).
Log your Texas Journeyman hours free. A free Tsai Electro account keeps your supervised hours, your online practice scores and your exam date in one place. Start with a five-question check to see which topic to practice next.
Tsai Electro is an independent learning site. Not affiliated with TDLR, OSHA, the Department of Labor or any apprenticeship program.
Why missed class matters
Related instruction is part of registered apprenticeship. Federal standards (29 CFR 29.5(b)(4)) call for organized, related instruction in technical subjects and recommend a minimum of 144 hours for each year of apprenticeship. Houston JATC, for example, says classes run one night a week for four hours, generally September to June.
Missed class is also tied to advancement. At South Texas JATC, advancement requires no outstanding absences, along with the required hours, passing grades, and evaluations. At IEC Dallas, you must pass each semester with at least 70% to advance.
If you are in your first year and want the basics of hours, supervision and your license, see our first year as a Texas apprentice electrician page.
What Texas programs publish about make-up
Rules differ by program. Here is what three programs say in their own documents and pages.
| Program | What it publishes |
|---|---|
| South Texas Electrical JATC (Rules and Policies, amended 12/30/2025) | Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory. Contact the Training Office as soon as you know you will miss. All absences must be made up, during regularly scheduled class sessions at the Training Center, and it is your job to find and attend the next available make-up with your instructor. Your training assignment is suspended until the make-up is done. Tell your contractor when a make-up is required. |
| IEC Dallas (Program and Benefits sheet) | Class attendance is mandatory. Missed classes must be made up before the end of the semester in which you missed them. |
| IEC Fort Worth (website) | Apprentices log in to the program’s Flashpoint portal for grades, attendance and make-up classes. The site lists make-up classes you select to fulfill a four-hour requirement, through an online class collection. |
South Texas JATC also counts these as absences: three tardies, attending less than 80% of a class day, substantially incomplete homework, and arriving without required textbooks, workbooks, tools or workwear. Three absences in a year suspend your work assignment until you meet with the Committee.
Read your own program’s rules too.
Who to ask
- Training office. First call for any absence. They know the make-up schedule and the paperwork.
- Instructor. For what you missed in class and for topics you do not understand.
- Your employer or foreman. South Texas JATC asks you to inform your contractor when a make-up is required, and your job schedule may need to change.
- Your program portal. South Texas JATC apprentices can view test grades, classes and attendance in the portal. IEC Fort Worth uses Flashpoint.
- A classmate. For notes and what was covered. Not a substitute for the official make-up.
A catch-up plan for one missed class
- Contact the training office the same day.
- Find the date of the next make-up session and put it in your calendar.
- Tell your employer if the make-up affects your work schedule.
- Get the homework and reading for the class you missed.
- Read the chapter before the make-up, so the session is review, not first contact.
- Complete the missed homework and ask your instructor about the deadline. At South Texas JATC, substantially incomplete homework can count as an absence.
- Check the portal or ask the office to confirm the make-up was recorded.
When you are stuck, not absent
Sometimes you sat in every class and a topic still did not land. Common ones are calculations and finding answers in the code book.
- Ask your instructor one specific question before or after class. “I get lost at step three of this calculation” is easier to answer than “I do not get it.”
- Redo the worked example from class without looking, then check.
- Practice with questions. Start with the free 70-question practice set and note which topics you miss.
- Bring those topics back to your instructor.
Check your catch-up
Missed class catch-up check
Tick what is done. Nothing leaves your browser.
- I told the training office about the absence
- I scheduled the required make-up with my program
- I told my employer the make-up is required
- I have the homework and reading for the class I missed
- I read the chapter before the make-up
- My homework for that class is complete
- I completed the required make-up and confirmed it was recorded
- I asked my instructor about anything I still do not understand
Need extra practice with calculations or code-book questions? The Texas Journeyman Electrician Exam Practice Pack is for apprentices preparing for the journeyman exam. It includes 1,000 practice questions, 10 timed two-part mock exams based on the PSI format and 2026 NEC, each part scored against 70%, step-by-step calculation solutions, and a printable workbook. It does not replace your program’s make-up classes or count toward your classroom hours. US$39, one payment, 30-day refund if unused.
Do I have to make up a missed apprenticeship class?
At the programs we checked, yes. South Texas Electrical JATC says all absences must be made up, and IEC Dallas says missed classes must be made up before the end of that semester. Check your own program’s rules.
Can I keep working on the job while a make-up is pending?
At South Texas JATC, no. Your training assignment is suspended until the make-up is done, and you return with a return-to-work slip. Other programs set their own rules.
Does being late count as an absence?
At South Texas JATC, three tardies equal one absence, and attending less than 80% of a class day counts as absent.
What if I attend class but still do not understand a topic?
Ask your instructor a specific question, redo the class examples and practice with questions. Bring the topics you keep missing back to your instructor.
