I've spent about the past 20 years of my life working with electricity and I love it. I've recently made the decision to become a full-fledged licensed electrician. The question I have, is how?

I contacted my local IBEW for their apprentice training program and they aren't accepting any applications at all and there is no known time when they will be. What are my other options? When I search for "electrician" I see a few online schools, but I can't figure out what I get from them at the end of the course. Also, their courses are less than a year while the IBEW course is 5 years. Doesn't sound right.

Any input whatsoever would be very much appreciated.

Sam Lewit