Short answer: Start by asking what records the apprentice has from the previous job. Changing contractors does not automatically erase Texas training hours, but TDLR still has to verify and accept the qualifying experience. Identify the supervising Master for each period, then use the first week to discuss what the apprentice has done and what they still want to learn.
If you own or run an electrical contracting business, this is a different conversation from welcoming someone with no experience. Give the new hire room to explain their previous work before setting a study plan. Keep questions about proving old hours separate from decisions about their work at your company.
Find out what came with the apprentice
Our guide to changing employers and keeping hour records explains which details to gather: the supervising Master’s name, license number and phone, the company, exact employment dates and hours for the period. Ask the apprentice which of those they already have. A missing contact is a useful question to resolve early.
The guide describes a separate ELC017 Experience Verification Form for each supervising Master. A personal spreadsheet or paper log helps organize the records, but does not replace the signed verification. If the supervising Master changed during one job, keep the periods distinct rather than treating the company name as the whole record.
If a former supervisor is hard to reach, the guide reports TDLR’s suggestion to contact the contractor the Master worked under; the license search may also help locate contact details. Agree with the apprentice on which contact they will try next. Do not turn an estimate of time at the old company into a promise about accepted hours.
Know what the new supervising Master may be asked
For the period at your company, make the supervising Master’s identity clear from the start. Our Journeyman application guide summarizes the information requested on ELC017. Use that summary to discuss what records will support the new period:
- The supervisor’s name and phone, company, license type, number and license dates.
- The dates of supervision and the hours worked during that period.
- Whether the supervisor supervised the work and whether the apprentice held a valid license during those dates.
- The type and setting of the work, a description of it and the supervisor’s signature.
The same guide notes that TDLR may contact supervisors to check the experience. Set up the new records around the actual period of supervision. Questions about an earlier employer belong with the people who supervised that period; a new company file cannot settle whether TDLR will accept it.
The Texas apprentice license guide describes general supervision by a Master, Journeyman or Residential Wireman. It distinguishes that from the Texas Master supervision required for Journeyman experience. If a Journeyman gives the daily instructions, identify which Master the work is under. The apprentice license expiration guide can also help the employee find the date to check.
Use the first week to hear what they have done
Open the Texas career skill tree together and ask the apprentice to describe a task they recognize. Have them explain their part in it, then ask about something they have not encountered. This is a suggested conversation using the public tree, rather than a claim that the site assesses their competence.
Write down one topic they want explained and choose a reading to discuss later. Keep that note beside the learning plan, separate from the experience forms. Reading a page does not authorize a task. Your company and apprenticeship program retain responsibility for site safety orientation and required training.
Discuss the next license without guessing a finish date
If Journeyman is the apprentice’s goal, read the 7,000-hour application guide together. Its October 2026 summary distinguishes applying for the exam at 7,000 qualifying supervised hours from the 8,000 approved hours and passed exam needed for the license. Those are different checkpoints, and neither is established by time on your payroll alone.
Before planning an application, have the apprentice confirm the current instructions and their own records with TDLR. Leave acceptance of particular experience to TDLR. For your first-week discussion, a useful result is knowing which supervisor or document is still missing, without estimating how many months the employee has left.
Choose extra study for the question ahead
For an apprentice studying toward the Journeyman exam, the group resource page lists the Texas Journeyman Electrician Exam Practice Pack. It includes practice questions and ten timed two-part mock exams, with worked calculation solutions and a printable workbook. It is supplementary exam study; it cannot supply the experience verification discussed above.
For continued learning, compare individual membership across the whole Texas career skill tree. The aim extends before and after licensing, including study toward promotion or a change of field. Some branches are still being built. Current features include saving foundation activity results, longer practice history and review features. Download kits are separate purchases.
Bringing in several apprentices with different histories?
Use the group inquiry page for programs and employers to discuss resources for several employees. Follow its instructions with your organization name, expected seat count, learner stage and the resource you are considering. Describe the learning need without including employee names or personal records. Wait for written confirmation of access, timing and group terms before buying. The page provides no coordinator dashboard or group progress reports.
Tsai Electro supplies independent study materials and has no affiliation with TDLR, OSHA, the Department of Labor or an apprenticeship program. These resources carry no promise of admission, employment or an exam pass.
