A commercial painting apprentice learns the trade on office, school, store and apartment jobs, working beside lead painters. Early on they mask, protect floors, patch and sand, and box paint to the color schedule, then move on to rolling, cutting in and spraying big walls.
By the HireBus team · Updated · Pay data: BLS, May 2025
Annual pay: 10th percentile $31,370, middle half $36,650 to $48,340, 90th percentile $52,000. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025.
Reports to
Lead Painter
Department
Operations
Schedule
Weekdays 7 to 4; nights on some jobs · The template's 7 to 4 fits new buildings. Open offices, stores and schools may need nights; edit that line if so.
Responsible for learning commercial painting procedures and techniques while supporting lead painters to deliver high-quality work that enhances our company's reputation and customer satisfaction.
2. Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Learn and implement commercial painting techniques under the guidance of experienced painters.
Assist lead painters with surface preparation, painting, and finishing tasks.
Maintain and organize painting tools, equipment, and materials.
Follow safety protocols and company guidelines to ensure a secure work environment.
3. Key Tasks / Daily Activities
Prepare work areas through proper cleaning and masking of surfaces.
Mix and match paint colors according to project specifications.
Assist with the setup and breakdown of job sites, ensuring all materials are transported safely.
Communicate effectively with the lead painter and team members to address daily tasks and challenges.
4. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Painting Accuracy Rate: >95% adherence to project specifications.
Task Completion Time: Complete assigned tasks within 8 hours per day.
Safety Compliance: Zero safety incidents per project.
Customer Satisfaction: Achieve an average customer rating of >4.8 stars on post-project surveys.
5. Required Qualifications and Skills
High school diploma or equivalent required.
Basic understanding of painting tools and techniques.
Excellent attention to detail and willingness to learn new skills.
Good communication and teamwork abilities.
Ability to follow detailed instructions and safety protocols.
6. Preferred Experience
Previous experience in a painting or construction environment preferred.
Experience in a commercial or industrial setting is a plus.
Familiarity with different types of paint and surface preparation techniques.
Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment.
7. Physical Requirements
Ability to lift up to 50 lbs regularly.
Frequent bending, kneeling, and reaching during work tasks.
Work in various environments including outdoors and in confined spaces.
Endurance to perform physically demanding tasks for extended periods.
8. Work Environment and Schedule
Typical work hours: Monday through Friday, 7:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
Occasional overtime may be required to meet project deadlines.
Minimal travel requirements between job sites.
On-call duties possible during peak project periods.
9. Compensation and Benefits
Hourly rate range: $15 - $20 per hour, based on experience.
Opportunity for performance-based bonuses upon meeting KPIs.
Health, Dental, and Vision insurance provided.
401(k) plan with company matching available.
Additional benefits include paid time off and ongoing training programs.
10. Company Culture and Overview
[INSERT COMPANY NAME HERE] fosters a culture of continuous improvement, collaboration, and diversity. We empower our team members to advance their skills while contributing to a supportive and innovative workspace. Our commitment to quality and customer satisfaction drives our success, making us a rewarding environment for individuals looking to grow their professional careers.
11. How to Apply
If you meet the above criteria and want to be part of a growth-oriented company focused on customer satisfaction, please send your resume to [INSERT EMAIL HERE] or apply online at [INSERT WEBSITE LINK HERE].
Need help filling this role? HireBus posts the ad, Iris interviews every applicant by phone before you do, and you decide who to hire. Start hiring now
The brush and roller are the same as in house painting. The setting is not: long corridors, lifts, other trades on site, a spec book and, on public jobs, pay rules tied to the apprentice's registration.
Some learn through a registered program
BLS says formal painting apprenticeships last three or four years and are less common than learning on the job. The painters' union, IUPAT, trains its apprentices through its own institute and says a typical program takes three years, less with past experience. A non-union contractor can sponsor a program and register it with DOL or a state apprenticeship agency. At the interview, find out whether the candidate is already enrolled in one. Source: IUPAT: Become an apprentice (Finishing Trades Institute).
Public jobs pay apprentice rates only if registered
Federal and many federally funded jobs, painting included, follow Davis-Bacon pay rules. Paying less than the wage determination's painter rate is allowed only for someone signed up by name in a program DOL or a recognized state agency has registered, or in a 90-day probation that agency has certified. Anyone else paid an apprentice rate is owed the painter rate. So is each apprentice beyond the allowed ratio, and outside the area where your program is registered, the local ratio applies. Keep registration papers in the payroll file. Source: 29 CFR 5.5: Davis-Bacon contract clauses, payrolls and apprentices (Cornell LII).
Scissor lifts come early
Gym, store and lobby ceilings sit above ladder reach, so a new apprentice may be on a scissor lift early. OSHA puts many scissor lifts under its scaffold standard. That means guardrails stay on, and nobody climbs on them. Under the scaffold training rule, anyone working from the platform is trained by someone qualified in its hazards, and anyone who drives, moves or inspects it is trained by a competent person. Finish both before the first ride up. Source: OSHA Scaffolding eTool: Scissor lifts.
Old coatings on steel and block need lead training
OSHA's lead rule for construction covers painting. Where old coatings contain lead, hand scraping, sanding, heat guns and power tool cleaning with dust collection mean treating the worker as overexposed, with respirators and other protection, until a written exposure assessment shows otherwise. Anyone exposed at or above the action level is trained before being assigned the work. Apprentices do much of that prep, so they need it first. Source: 29 CFR 1926.62: Lead in construction (Cornell LII).
Protecting a building that's still in use
In an open office, clinic or school, protection takes a big share of the shift. Drop cloths get taped at doorways, plastic goes over desks and computers, wet walls get signs, and hallways stay clear for people walking past. After a night shift the space has to look ready for the morning. An apprentice who treats protection as real work, not a chore before the painting, is one to keep.
How much commercial painting apprentices make
The closest BLS group for commercial painting apprentices is Helpers--Painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons. Helpers--Painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons who work for painting contractors earned a median of $19.65 an hour ($40,880 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s about the same as the $40,470 median for Helpers--Painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons in all industries. About 4,530 of the 7,490 Helpers--Painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons in that survey work for painting contractors.
Hourly, with a raise each time the lead signs off a new skill, plus the KPI bonus in the template. This page shows BLS pay for painters' helpers, which sits closer to a first-year rate than painter pay. BLS files apprentices under the painter code, so a registered program's pay steps climb toward painter pay over the years.
Painting contractors
$40,880$40,880 median Middle half $36,650–$48,340 10th–90th $31,370–$52,000
All industries
$40,470$40,470 median Middle half $36,830–$49,090 10th–90th $31,200–$52,000
$20k$30k$40k$50k$60k
10th–90th percentileMiddle halfMedianAnnual pay, May 2025. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics.
Annual pay by percentile
Group
10th
25th
Median
75th
90th
Painting contractors
$31,370
$36,650
$40,880
$48,340
$52,000
All industries
$31,200
$36,830
$40,470
$49,090
$52,000
BLS reports residential and commercial painting contractors together. Post a real range for your market in the ad.
The pay line in the template above is an example from our Role Blueprint. Set yours from these figures and what local companies pay.
Skills to hire for, and what you can teach
Hire for these
Available for night shifts, if your jobs include buildings that stay open
Follows site rules: sign-in, badge, protective gear and areas that are off limits
Willing to work from lifts and scaffolds once trained
Measures and does simple math for coverage and mixing
Takes direction from the lead painter and asks before guessing
Respects tenants, students and staff working nearby
Teach these on the job
Masking and protecting floors, glass, fixtures and other trades' finished work
Patching and sanding drywall before the prime coat
Spraying open walls with an airless rig, then cleaning the pump
Finding a room's coating and color on the finish schedule
Pre-use checks and driving on a scissor lift
Lead-safe prep and respirator use under your written program
Apprentices bring basic hand tools: a 5-in-1, putty knives, a utility knife, a tape measure and a caulk gun. The company supplies airless rigs, extension poles, masking machines, lifts, rolling scaffold and HEPA vacuums. Say in the ad whether you sponsor a registered program and whether night shifts are part of the job.
Two of the 6 questions we'd ask, and what a strong answer sounds like. Ask every candidate the same questions, and rate each answer on your own before you compare notes.
Situational · Site hazard awareness
On a busy commercial job site, you notice an open floor edge with no guardrail near where you're working. What do you do?
A strong answer: Stays back from it, tells the lead painter right away so the general contractor can fix it, and doesn't move or remove any barricades.
Behavioral · Staying consistent on repetitive work
Tell me about a time at work, school or volunteering when you had to do careful, repetitive work, like sanding, sorting or folding, for hours without the quality slipping.
A strong answer: Kept a steady pace, checked their work often by stepping back or comparing with the first piece, took short resets to stay sharp and asked someone to check the result.
Start with the template's numbers for your first apprentice. After your first few apprentices, set them from how fast those apprentices actually picked up each skill.
Painting Accuracy Rate
Areas the apprentice preps or paints that pass the lead painter's first check against the spec and color schedule. Note each miss, such as the wrong sheen on a door frame or a skipped patch.
Task Completion Time
Hours spent on a task, like masking a corridor or priming a floor of patched walls, against the production rate the job was bid at. Allow for learning time in the first months.
Safety Compliance
Incidents, near misses and the general contractor's safety walk notes on the apprentice: lift checks, eye and breathing protection, cords and ladders. A record with no near misses at all may mean nobody is reporting them.
Customer Satisfaction
Ask the superintendent, property manager or facility contact after each job. Pull out remarks about cleanup, protection and how the crew treated people in the building.
Career path
Pre-apprentice or laborerMoves material, cleans up and learns site safety on commercial jobs.
Apprentice painterPreps, primes and learns spraying while training in a program or in-house.
Can a non-union painting contractor hire apprentices?
Yes. A non-union company can register a program of its own with DOL or a state apprenticeship agency. That brings related classroom instruction, a skills list, pay steps and a credential the apprentice keeps if they move on. It can also train in-house without registering. That is legal, but the trainee earns no portable credential, and on Davis-Bacon jobs they must be paid as a painter.
How much does a commercial painting apprentice make?
Helpers--Painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons who work for painting contractors earned a median of $19.65 an hour ($40,880 a year) in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The middle half earned between $36,650 and $48,340 a year. Pay also depends on your local market, experience and overtime.
How does a commercial painting apprentice spend the first year?
Mostly prep and support. They carry pails and drop cloths to the area, mask windows and frames, patch and sand walls, wipe down steel doors, and keep the lead's sprayer fed with paint. By the end of the first year many are rolling walls and spraying primer on open areas, with the lead painter checking each area before the next coat.
Will an apprentice mix colors on a commercial job?
Rarely from scratch. On commercial work the colors come from the architect's color schedule, and the supplier usually tints them. The apprentice checks each label against the schedule, pours several cans of one color together so the batch matches across a long wall, and tells the lead if a delivery looks off.
How can I test an apprentice painter before hiring?
Pay for a short working trial on a real job, with the lead painter watching. Have them mask a doorway and frame, roll a section of wall and cut in along a ceiling. Then hand them a finish schedule and ask which coating goes on a given room. You'll see care, pace and whether they ask questions.
What should the ad say about the physical side of the job?
Name the tasks a painter does on your jobs. The template asks for "endurance to perform physically demanding tasks for extended periods", a line about the person rather than the painting, and it may put off applicants who could handle the work. Swap in tasks: carrying 5-gallon pails and drop cloths, rolling ceilings from a lift, kneeling to mask baseboards. Under EEOC guidance, it's fine to have all applicants for the role explain or show how they'd do them.
