Editorial · October 14, 2015
Registered Apprenticeship Programs: A Guide for Employers
Registered apprenticeship programs let an employer train workers on the job. Workers are paid for on-the-job learning. Classroom or online study goes with it. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) or a state agency that DOL recognizes approves the program's written standards. To start one, you write the standards, register them, and then register each apprentice. For fiscal year 2014, DOL counted more than 19,000 programs and more than 410,000 apprentices.
The law behind the system
The National Apprenticeship Act of 1937 is the law behind the system. It directs the Secretary of Labor to promote labor standards that protect apprentices. It also tells the Secretary to bring employers and labor together to shape programs. DOL's registration rules are in Part 29 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
DOL says sponsors run these programs on a voluntary basis. Sponsors include employers, industry associations, unions, colleges and the military.
Who registers your program
Only two kinds of office can register a program. One is DOL's Office of Apprenticeship (OA). The other is a State Apprenticeship Agency that OA recognizes. DOL's toolkit says which one you use depends on your state. The result is the same either way: a program that meets national standards.
The agency that registers you also gives technical help and checks program quality. DOL's state contact list shows whether your state is federal or state-run.
Five steps to set one up
DOL's Quick-Start Toolkit lays out five steps.
- Explore whether apprenticeship fits your needs. Hard-to-fill jobs, high turnover and skilled workers nearing retirement are signs that it might. Apprentices can be new hires or current employees. The job must be an apprenticeable occupation. Among other things, the job must be recognized across an industry. It needs related instruction, such as classroom or online study. It must also take at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning to master.
- Partner with groups such as colleges, workforce boards, industry groups and unions. Every program has a sponsor that runs it. A business or a group of businesses can be the sponsor. So can an industry association or labor-management group, which can handle the administration and lighten the load on employers.
- Build the core parts. These are employer involvement, on-the-job training, related instruction, raises as skills grow and a national credential. You can measure progress by hours, by tested skills or by both.
- Register the program with your state agency or OA. DOL describes local standards for one state or region. It describes national options that generally suit large national employers and groups with chapters across the country.
- Launch the program. Recruit and screen candidates, hire apprentices, register them and start training. Keep in touch with the office that registered you. Track each apprentice's progress.
If a union represents the workers you plan to train, bring it in early. If the union helps run the program, the agency needs a written statement that the union agrees or does not object to the registration. If the union stays out, you must send it a copy of your application and your program when you apply.
What your standards must cover
The agency approves your written standards. Among other points, the rules require them to cover these items.
- Term: the program can run by hours, by proven skills or by both. Hours-only programs need at least 2,000 hours of on-the-job learning. The sponsor chooses, and the agency must agree the approach fits the job.
- Training plan: list the work processes apprentices will learn and about how much time each major one takes. Also plan related instruction, in class, online or another approved way. The rules recommend at least 144 hours a year.
- Pay: wages must rise as skills grow. The starting wage cannot be below the federal minimum wage, where it applies. Other law or a union contract can set a higher floor.
- Supervision: unless a union contract expressly bars ratios, set a ratio of apprentices to journeyworkers, who have mastered the occupation's skills. The ratio must allow proper supervision, training, safety and steady employment, and fit union contract terms.
- Probation: the probation period cannot run longer than 25 percent of the program or one year, whichever is shorter. It counts toward completion.
- Paperwork: the apprentice and the sponsor or employer sign a written agreement. A parent or guardian signs too for a minor. The agency issues a certificate when the apprentice finishes.
- Equal opportunity: the program must follow 29 CFR Part 30 or, where one applies, an approved state plan. The standards must say so.
A newly registered program gets provisional approval for one year. After that the agency reviews it. If the program conforms, the agency may make the approval permanent. Or it may keep the approval provisional through the first full training cycle. A registered program must keep at least one registered apprentice. The only gaps allowed, up to one year each, come before the first apprentice is registered and between a graduate and the next apprentice.
What it costs and what helps
The sponsor plans, runs and usually pays for the program, DOL says. DOL points to these sources of help.
- Workforce funds: on-the-job training contracts can repay an employer up to 50 percent of an eligible worker's wages for up to six months. DOL's playbook says the new workforce law, WIOA, lets the cap rise to 75 percent. That is not guaranteed in every area. Funds are limited, and your local American Job Center or workforce board sets the amount.
- Tax credits: in many states, businesses can qualify for credits tied to apprenticeship programs.
- GI Bill approval: sponsors can be certified under the GI Bill, usually within 30 days. Qualifying veterans can then get a monthly stipend on top of their wages. The Department of Veterans Affairs pays it.
On September 9, 2015, DOL awarded $175 million in American Apprenticeship Grants to 46 applicants. The winners pledged to train and hire more than 34,000 new apprentices over five years. By that date, more than 140 employers, colleges and labor groups had signed on as ApprenticeshipUSA LEADERS. They agreed to expand their own programs and urge peers to follow. Employers can sign on as LEADERS too.
DOL says apprenticeship representatives at OA and the state agencies stand ready to help employers develop programs. Call one first.