A Paid, DOL-Registered Machinist Apprenticeship in Ogden, Utah
Earn while you learn. Four years of paid training on the floor and in the JDU classroom, ending in a Journey-Level Machinist Certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor. No experience required.
No Experience Required. A Real Trade at the End.
JDU is the technical training program built by JD Machine. It is certified by the U.S. Department of Labor as the educational training component for a CNC Machinist Apprenticeship Program. It is built for people who have never run a machine.
Finishing high school? Changing careers? Leaving the military, or working a job with no path forward? The Machinist Apprenticeship is the entry point. You are paid from your first day. You train on the floor and in the classroom. You finish with a federally recognized journey-level credential.
You do not need a degree, a certificate, or prior shop experience. Mechanical aptitude, reliability and a willingness to learn matter far more than anything on a résumé.
Earn While You Learn
Apprentices are full-time team members with a wage and benefits, not students paying for a program.
A wage from the first day
Apprentices are hired as team members and paid for every hour, on the floor and in the classroom. There is no tuition and no unpaid training period.
Wage progression as you advance
Pay steps up as competency milestones are met across the program, so the wage reflects the skill you have built, not just the time you have put in.
Full benefits
Health coverage, paid time off and the rest of the benefits package available to JD Machine team members. Benefits start the first of the month following 90 days of employment.
A climate-controlled shop
The 100,000 sq ft facility is temperature- and humidity-controlled for the precision work it does, which also makes it a better place to spend a shift than most manufacturing floors.
How the Apprenticeship Works
On-the-job training at the machine
Most of the apprenticeship is paid work on the production floor, running real parts at real tolerances alongside journey-level machinists. Registered machinist apprenticeships are built around roughly 8,000 hours of on-the-job training across four years, and JDU follows the DOL-registered standard.
JDU classroom instruction, on site
Related technical instruction is taught at JDU inside the JD Machine facility: shop math, blueprint reading and GD&T, metrology, materials, CNC programming fundamentals and quality systems. Registered programs require a minimum of related instruction each year, and JDU's classroom runs alongside the floor work rather than before it.
A mentor from the start
Each apprentice is paired with an experienced team member. The mentor model is how JD Machine has developed people for decades: the standard is learned from the person maintaining it, and the questions get answered at the machine.
Competency milestones, not just time
Progress is measured against defined competencies recorded in the DOL program standards. Each milestone met moves the apprentice forward in skill and in pay.
Journey-level certification
At completion, the apprentice receives a Journey-Level Machinist Certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor: a nationally recognized, portable credential that documents a completed registered apprenticeship.
Skills an Apprenticeship Graduate Leaves With
In general terms, the machines and processes a journey-level machinist at JD Machine is expected to operate.
The Career After the Certificate
Journey-level certification is the start of the career, not the end. Thirty-six apprentices have completed the program, and they are working across the shop today as machinists, programmers, inspectors and leads. Several of the people running departments at JD Machine started as apprentices or operators on the floor. The company promotes from within whenever it can. A DOL-certified welding apprenticeship exists for the fabrication side too, though that is a three-person department and openings are rare.
A Day in the LifeHow to Apply
Apprenticeship openings are posted with the rest of JD Machine's positions here and reviewed on a rolling basis. Apply to the apprenticeship posting, or to an entry-level production role and note your interest in the Machinist Apprenticeship. Interviews are held at the Ogden facility, and candidates get a look at the floor and the JDU classroom before they decide.
If you are not sure whether you qualify, apply anyway. The program exists for people who are starting from zero.
Apprenticeship Questions
How long is the machinist apprenticeship?
Four years. The program combines paid on-the-job training on the production floor with related technical instruction in the JDU classroom, and finishes with a Journey-Level Machinist Certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor.
Is the apprenticeship paid?
Yes. Apprentices are full-time JD Machine team members from the first day, paid for every hour including classroom time, with benefits eligibility. Pay steps up as competency milestones are met.
Do I need to go to school first?
No. The apprenticeship is an entry-level position and no prior training, degree or certificate is required. The related instruction you need is taught at JDU, on site, as part of the paid program.
Do I need any experience to apply?
No. The Machinist Apprenticeship is built for people who have never worked in a machine shop. Reliability, mechanical aptitude and the willingness to learn are what the program looks for.
What does a journey-level machinist do?
A journey-level machinist sets up and runs CNC mills and lathes to make precision parts from engineering drawings, selects tooling and offsets, inspects work against tight tolerances, and troubleshoots the process when something drifts. At JD Machine that work is on aerospace, space, defense and medical components inside an AS9100D quality system.
Is the certificate recognized outside JD Machine?
Yes. The Journey-Level Certificate is issued by the U.S. Department of Labor for completion of a registered apprenticeship. It is a national, portable credential, though the goal of the program is a long career at JD Machine, and the company promotes from within.
What is JDU?
JDU is the name of JD Machine's in-house training institution. The program it delivers is the Machinist Apprenticeship, and the U.S. Department of Labor certifies JDU as its educational training component. The classroom is inside the Ogden facility, so apprentices learn the theory a few steps from the machines they run.
How do I apply?
Apply here, on JD Machine's job board. Choose an apprenticeship posting, or an entry-level production role, and mention the Machinist Apprenticeship in your application. Openings are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Start a Trade, Not Just a Job
Apprenticeship openings are posted on our job board and reviewed on a rolling basis. Questions about the program? Call and ask for the apprenticeship coordinator.
(801) 782-4394