How to Hire a Rigger in Virginia

$31/hr

Match Virginia lifts with proven load judgment and rigging skills.

Change trade or state

About this Guide

Hiring for construction lifts requires evidence of load assessment, gear selection and safe crew communication. Virginia shipyard applicants bring another work setting to assess. Define the loads and supervision available, then compare candidates against those tasks. Budget wages separately from lifting equipment, training and other project costs.

Who's available right now

Virginia · this week
Live on American Recruits

Verified riggers are on the market in Virginia this week

Candidate availability moves week to week. What does not move is the screening: the certifications below are what decide whether someone can be badged onto your site at all.

Search candidates
Available candidates
Steady
Profiles in Virginia
With current OSHA cards
Most
Verified against the document
Typical time to fill
2–4 weeks
Verified and ready to badge

Understanding different hiring levels

The levels are separated by what the state allows a person to do unsupervised, not by how good they are. Hiring the wrong level is the most common and most expensive mistake on a trade requisition.

ACheapest to hireApprentice / helper

Productive under supervision and cheap, but they cannot be left on a task the state licenses, and they need someone qualified with them.

What they'll actually be doing
  • ✓Material handling and site preparation
  • ✓Assist a qualified hand on installation
  • ✓Housekeeping and tool staging
What they can't do yet — legally
  • ✕Cannot work unsupervised on licensed work
  • ✕Cannot sign off their own work at inspection
What they need to hold
OSHA 10Apprentice registration where the state requires it
Worth doing
Paying for their certifications is the cheapest retention mechanism you have — the card raises their rate with you rather than with the next employer.
Where recruiters stall
Hiring at this level to save money and then needing licensed work signed off is what blows the schedule.
Only hire when
Use them where a qualified hand is already on site and the work is supervised.
JWhat most requisitions needJourneyman / qualified

Works unsupervised and can carry a helper. This is the level almost every requisition is actually describing.

What they'll actually be doing
  • ✓Runs work without supervision
  • ✓Builds from drawings
  • ✓Carries one to three helpers
  • ✓Handles inspection on their own work
What they can't do yet — legally
  • ✕Usually cannot pull permits in their own name
  • ✕Cannot act as the licence-holder of record
What they need to hold
Journeyman card where the state issues oneOSHA 30Current trade-specific safety training
Worth doing
Ask what they ran on their own and who supervised it. The answer separates a journeyman from a long-serving helper faster than any certificate.
Where recruiters stall
Employers accept "in progress" as though it were held. It is not — and on a licensed scope it stops the job.
Only hire when
Hire here for anything that has to proceed without a supervisor standing over it.
MFor scope and sign-offMaster / lead

Runs crews across sites, owns compliance outcomes, and where the trade allows, pulls permits and qualifies the work.

What they'll actually be doing
  • ✓Runs crews across more than one site
  • ✓Owns compliance and inspection outcomes
  • ✓Estimates and scopes packages
What they can't do yet — legally
  • ✕Cannot trade as a business without a contractor licence, insurance and usually a bond
What they need to hold
Master or supervisor card where the state issues oneContinuing education current
Worth doing
Local permit experience is worth more than generic years. Ask which jurisdictions they have pulled in.
Where recruiters stall
Paying master rates for work a journeyman could run is the other half of the level mistake.
Only hire when
Hire here when the scope needs sign-off, sequencing or several crews.

What a rigger costs in Virginia

Budget $30.59 an hour for a qualified rigger in Virginia, from $23.63 at entry level to $36.80 at the top. Add a quarter to a third on top for payroll taxes, insurance and equipment, and price overtime at time and a half.

Hourly range
$23.63–$36.80
Virginia · before burden
See the full rigger salary guide →

Legal & compliance checklist

Virginia VOSH covers most construction workplaces, while federal OSHA retains maritime jurisdiction. Employers determine rigging qualification for assigned tasks. Workers' compensation generally applies above two regularly employed workers, including relevant subcontractor employees.

Licence & verificationMust haveVerify against the issuing board, not the résumé.0 / 3
0 / 3
Safety & site accessMust haveWithout these they cannot be badged onto most sites.0 / 3
0 / 3
Employment & insuranceMust haveGetting the status wrong is the expensive mistake here.0 / 3
0 / 3
Practical & schedulingSite-drivenDriven by the site rather than by law, but they still stop a start date.0 / 3
0 / 3

Post a Rigger job in Virginia

Find verified and skilled candidates in your city

Start Now

Where to find them in Virginia

Approach Camp's workforce office, ABC's training team and Apprentice School admissions about rigging pathways and candidates.

Shipbuilding apprenticeship

The Apprentice School

Contact admissions about rigging. Newport News Shipbuilding trains its own hires through registered shipyard apprenticeship.
Typical length4–5 years
What it costs$0 tuition
College training

Camp Community College

Ask Workforce Development about Franklin rigging candidates. Bundle tuition covers Core and one certification exam.
Typical length65 hours
What it costs$4,500 full tuition
Specialist course

ABC Virginia

Ask the training team about Dulles rigging contacts. Course fees include materials and lunch.
Typical length2 days
What it costs$895–$1,095

Screen them properly

Certificates get a candidate past the first filter. These are the questions that separate the ones who can do the work from the ones who have the paperwork, and they change by level.

Interview questions that actually filter

01What did you do on your last site, task by task?
Why it matters: A specific answer tells you what they have actually held in their hands. A vague one usually means they watched.
02Who signed your hours, and can we call them?
Why it matters: Undocumented hours are the single most common problem at this level, and it is the employer who discovers it later.
03Which tools do you own?
Why it matters: It is a proxy for commitment to the trade, and it tells you what you will be supplying on day one.

Red flags on the résumé

!

Certifications listed with no issuing body or date

!

A licence described as 'in progress'

!

No supervisor anyone can call

!

Three or four employers inside a year

!

Long gaps with no explanation offered

!

Cards that lapsed and were never renewed

How long the hire takes

A realistic schedule for a certified rigger, from writing the requisition to a badged start. The screening steps are where time is actually lost.

Day 0

Scope and post the role

Day 2–7

Shortlist and verify cards

Day 7–10

Interview and reference

Day 10–14

Offer and drug screen

Day 14–21

Site orientation and badging

Rates by sector

For Virginia construction hiring, relate these national employee figures to the proposed lifting duties.

01 / 03$36.15/hr

Utility System Construction

Utility line and related structure projects need coordinated lifting access. Define materials, exclusion zones and crew responsibilities when interviewing prospective riggers.

+ Infrastructure experience
+ Coordinated crews
– Access restrictions
– Moving worksites
02 / 03$29.43/hr

Other Specialty Trade Contractors

Specialist site work brings varied handling tasks. Describe the equipment and supervision available so candidates can explain relevant experience with comparable loads.

+ Diverse experience
+ Flexible deployment
– Variable assignments
– Project gaps
03 / 03$25.02/hr

Structural Specialty Contractors

Steel erection crews coordinate picks with connecting work. Assess sling selection and communication while planning deliveries around the available staging space.

+ Steelwork skills
+ Sequenced lifts
– Elevated exposure
– Delivery dependencies

Questions employers ask

Must every construction rigger hold third-party certification?▾
No. Virginia issues no state rigger license, and VOSH applies the federal crane rule. Employers determine qualification for specific lifting tasks. Evaluate evidence against the intended loads and equipment.
Can a rigger also signal the crane?▾
Yes, with separate signal-person qualification under VOSH, Virginia's state OSHA plan. A qualified evaluator must assess knowledge and practical skills. An employer evaluator's assessment is valid only with that employer.
What must we do before lifting near overhead power lines?▾
Notify the line's owner or operator first. Virginia's Overhead High Voltage Line Safety Act bars work within 10 feet of a high-voltage line until safeguards such as barriers or de-energizing are arranged, at your company's cost.

Hire a Rigger in Virginia

Post a role and reach OSHA-certified candidates in your area.

Post a JobBrowse Candidates

Current BLS Virginia employee wages for Riggers, SOC 49-9096; cross-industry wages exclude premium pay and benefits.

Last updated October 26, 2026. Rates are market estimates, not guarantees.