How to start an apprenticeship program

While work-style flexibility (remote, in-office, or a hybrid of both), onboarding bonuses, and extra paid time off are among the more popular incentives, so, too, are apprenticeship programs.

Like an internship, apprenticeships help provide on-the-job training to those interested in the industry and/or specific company (usually by working with or for certified experts). But, since apprentices can earn a competitive wage while they train (while most internships pay nothing, little, or dole out only college credits) and gain nationally recognized credentials, the popularity of apprenticeships is increasing.

Here’s an in-depth look at how companies can benefit from these programs and how to start an apprenticeship program for your business.

Why should you consider starting an apprenticeship program?

While the benefits of an apprenticeship are obvious for career seekers, what’s in it for employers? What do you get out of starting an apprenticeship program at your organization, whether you’re in the manufacturing, construction, healthcare, or tech industry?

For starters, not only will you be able to fill some of your company vacancies with quality, industry-trained professionals, but you’ll also be able to improve your retention rate by giving your overburdened employees some much-needed assistance. (On average, 3.5 million people in the US quit their jobs every month due to stress, childcare duties, fear of COVID-19, unfulfillment, and, of course, better opportunities and more money elsewhere.)

Starting an in-house apprenticeship program also helps employers in other ways:

• Increasing productivity and profitability
• Assembling a more diverse team
• Minimizing recruitment costs
• Modifying skill sets to match company requirements
• Applying for government grants and funding
• Receiving tax credits
• Reducing liability costs by maintaining and managing proper training expectations

Now that you know the benefits of having an in-house apprenticeship program, you’re probably itching to get started (as long as you have the funding and bandwidth, of course).

How to start an apprenticeship program

Here’s how to start an apprenticeship program in just five steps:

1. Nail down the logistics

In an effort to avoid reinventing the wheel (and spending unnecessary time and money), it’s important to first make sure you understand the logistics and objectives of your apprenticeship program. This will ensure that once you implement the program, it will ease your workload instead of add to it.

After all, how you plan and execute any new business project — especially one as unique as an apprenticeship program — is completely dependent on your pain points and what you’re trying to accomplish. If you’re looking to alleviate some of the burden and extra work for your overworked employees, for example, you need to create a plan to make sure your apprentices are getting proper but speedy training. If you’re looking to diversify your team and introduce more contrasting, valuable opinions and perspectives across your company, it’s important to mindfully consider and accept more apprentices from different backgrounds, races, and genders.

To determine exactly what you’re looking for in an apprenticeship program, ask yourself (as well as your key employees and executives) these questions:

• What are your biggest hiring challenges currently — both in your specific organization and overall industry?
• How will this apprenticeship program help combat those challenges?
• How soon do you want to implement this in-house? Is that a realistic time frame?
• What will the program structure look like? (We’ll cover more on this a little later.)
• What criteria will prospective apprentices need to meet for you to consider them (e.g., age and education requirements, physical proficiency exam, etc.)?
• How long will your program run? (This will depend on whether you choose to offer a competency-based program, which is more common, or a time-based one.)
• How many apprentices will you have?
• Are you prepared to make the proper adjustments to the apprenticeship program if/when technology alters your industry? Or is there a chance your program will become stagnant and obsolete?
• Do your objectives for this program match your existing, established company goals and values?
• Do your plans for the program connect and integrate with all the tools, processes, and strategies you already have in place?

2. Build the curriculum

Once you have a better understanding of how you’d like your apprenticeship program to play out, it’s time to start laying some groundwork — like creating the curriculum.

First, determine whether you’ll build your apprenticeship program from scratch or join an existing program that an intermediary has established. To help decide, consider your overall budget, time constraints, existing resources, and apprentice wages. Features that may seem like pros to you may be cons to another, so it’s important to make a strategic list, weigh your options, and consider multiple perspectives. (When working with an intermediary, for example, though you can start your program almost immediately, they’ll manage the apprenticeship, not you.)

Next, select your preferred occupation from this list to ensure it already has approval for use in a Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP), which is the proven apprenticeship model validated by the US Department of Labor (DOL). (There are also , that are worth consideration, but, for consistency, this article will focus on RAP.)

Make sure to review these key RAP components to form the foundation of your apprenticeship program:

• Pay

Since apprentices are not interns, you’re required to pay them for their work. As the employer, you must commit to this (and to a wage progression as they learn new skills) to register your program. Though the hourly pay varies state to state and industry to industry, the average base salary is $19.10 per hour.

• On-the-job training

To develop the real-world skills and knowledge necessary to become an independent worker, apprentices must receive on-the-job training directly through your program. Fortunately, the DOL provides training plans (also called work process schedules) for all registered apprenticeship programs, including the competencies apprentices will gain, the type of work they’ll fulfill, and the number of training and education hours required. For your specific course, you can choose one of their established plans and use it as is, make tweaks to it to meet your needs, or create a new one from scratch.

• Classroom learning

In addition to on-the-job training, apprentices need a complementary classroom educational experience as well, which you can provide in person or online via specialized educators.

• Mentorship and supervision

One of the best ways to get the most out of your apprentices is by giving them a trusted senior member of your organization to serve as a mentor and provide extra one-on-one support and guidance. But, like the rest of your program, you should structure the mentorship so no one receives an unfair advantage. It’s a good idea to implement some guidelines into your program regarding how often mentors and mentees should meet as well as what topics they should discuss. By following these procedures, your organization can hold everyone (mentors and mentees alike) accountable.

• Credentials

Most importantly, once your apprentice completes your program — whether it’s competency or time based — they will receive a national, industry-recognized credential that proves to employers they’re qualified for the job.

3. Build a roster

The next step in how to start an apprenticeship program is identifying which (as well as how many) candidates you’d like to accept in your program — based on your budget as well as your current and future company needs. Would you like apprentices fresh from high school with little to no technical skills? Or would you prefer them a little older with a bit more experience under their belts — from college or graduate school perhaps?

Once you know who you’d like to recruit, it’ll be easier for you to decide how and where to recruit them:

• To recruit high school and college students, reach out to local high schools and universities and figure out a way to advertise with them, especially if the schools already have established in-house trade programs. Consider placing an ad in their school paper or hosting an in-person workshop to discuss your apprenticeship course.
• When recruiting working professionals, create a list of industry organizations and professional associations your business is affiliated with. Do some research about upcoming networking events (or host your own) to meet like-minded individuals who are interested in new opportunities.
• As you’re recruiting, consider creating some form of partnership with a local organization or educational institution so they can help you design your program, alleviate some start-up costs, and provide some additional educational resources.

While making your list of ideal applicants, keep in mind that you don’t necessarily need to find new hires. Your current employees — especially high-performing, entry-level ones — may be more than willing to earn and learn through an apprenticeship program.

4. Register your apprenticeship program

Now that you’ve worked through all the kinks of your apprenticeship program — identified a specific occupation, appointed a qualified instructor, and curated an appropriate training plan — it’s time to register it with the DOL or State Apprenticeship Agency.

By registering, you’ll not only have a nationally recognized program to proudly promote, but you’ll also have access to federal resources and funding, state tax credits, and technical tools and assistance to bring it all to fruition.

To learn more about your registration options — including your adherence to National Guideline Standards, National Program Standards, or Local Apprenticeship Program Standards — and officially enroll your apprenticeship program, click here.

5. Launch your apprenticeship program

Congratulations! You’ve successfully learned the basics of how to start your own apprenticeship program. Now comes the fun part — launching and measuring it. To do so effectively, make sure you take these steps:

• Create appealing, simple, and straightforward marketing campaigns to attract ideal candidates.
• Then, once you’ve gotten them interested, recruit and register those high-quality candidates using an organized, streamlined, and accessible application process. Most importantly, your applicants should understand exactly what kind of apprenticeship program they’re applying for, especially the benefits of and requirements needed to participate in it.
• Luckily, there’s software that can help. With online form builder Jotform, you can create customizable forms, PDFs, and tables to help organize and keep track of everything you need for your apprenticeship program. Whether it’s an application form to collect applicant data or a manageable spreadsheet in which to house the information you’ve gathered, Jotform has you covered. It’s code free, intuitive, and applicable for both businesses and government bodies (like in this real-life example of a pre-apprenticeship training form created with Jotform).
• Stay in contact with your state government office for ongoing support and assistance. 
• Track your apprentices’ progress by requesting biweekly or monthly notes from their trainees and mentors. Sit in on training and classroom sessions to see their skills in action.
• Measure its effectiveness. Just because you’ve finalized and launched your apprenticeship program doesn’t mean your work is over. (In fact, some may argue it’s only just beginning.) Remember those goals and objectives you laid out back in step one? To truly measure the success of your apprenticeship program, you can review those goals and see if they align with what you’ve been building. 
• Are you on track to relieve some of your overworked employees with adept, highly skilled apprentices in the near future? 
• What about your plans for assembling a more diverse workforce? Have you put in the proper steps to bring that vision to life? 
• With metrics like program completion rates and apprentice to full-time conversion rates — including the demographics of those apprentices — you’ll be able to more effectively track where you’ve been, where you are now, and where you still want to go.

Apprenticeship programs are clearly beneficial for employers, especially in times of uncertainty. They open up the workforce, improve productivity and profitability, and minimize recruitment costs and employee turnover simultaneously.

And while the process of how to start an apprenticeship program is more involved than simply following these five steps, let them serve as an introduction and foundation to the process. So take your time, do your research, and enjoy your apprentice journey from start to finish.

Photo by: Photo by Monica Melton on Unsplash