Employer

• What is an apprenticeship?

  Modern apprenticeship is a workforce recruitment and development solution that offers employers a cost-effective way to attract, train, and retain middle-skill talent.

  Apprenticeships are mostly known in the skilled trades. But, the modernization of apprenticeship systems is a way to help employers solve middle-skill workforce shortages. Middle-skill jobs, which require education beyond high school but not a four-year degree, make up the largest part of the labor market in the United States.

  Middle-skill jobs account for 53 percent of the United States’ labor market, but only 43 percent of the country’s workers are trained to the middle-skill level. Modern Apprenticeships are a way to help fill that growing workforce gap.

• How would an apprenticeship program benefit our company?

  Registered Apprenticeship programs help businesses develop highly-skilled employees, reduce turnover rates, increase productivity and lower the cost of recruitment. Additional benefits include:

  • Customized training that meets industry standards, tailored to the specific needs of businesses, resulting in highly-skilled employees.
  • Increased knowledge transfer through on-the-job learning from an experienced mentor, combined with education courses to support work-based learning.
  • Enhanced employee retention: 91% of those completing an apprenticeship are still employed nine months later.
  • A stable and reliable pipeline of qualified workers.
  • A systematic approach to training that ensures employees are trained and certified to produce at the highest skill levels required for the occupation.
  • Businesses may qualify for state-based tax credits available for apprenticeship program sponsors. Workforce systems and other community partners may also choose to contribute funding for training, supplies or other aspects of apprenticeship programs. These benefits reduce an employer’s investment in apprenticeship training costs.

• Can I Hire an Apprentice as a Contractor?

  Apprentices can be hired as contractors, subject to the requirements of the Registered Apprenticeship Standard which you will adopt by signing the Employer Acceptance Agreement. Specifically:

  • The term of the contract must be for a period of 12 months. At the end of 12 months you may choose to retain the apprentice as an employee subject to your specific hiring practices.
  • The apprentice should be eligible for benefits consistent with your employment practices for this class of employee. • A 90 day probationary period is contained within the apprenticeship standard (p.4 Section F). Beyond 90 days, a decision to terminate employment should be consistent with your specific business practices.
  • Apprentices must be paid a progressively increasing schedule of wages based on the journeyworker wages for your organization. Journeyworker wages are defined as the wages that your company typically pays an employee competent in the skills outlined in Appendix A and one year of experience on the job. Most employers hire the apprentices outright as W-2 employees, but there are some that bring apprentices on as contractors if this is typical for this type and level of job opening. Additionally, in some cases we have seen employers leverage a staffing firm where this is a standard business practice.

• How is apprenticeship different from other types of work-based training?

  In most jobs people are hired for the skills they’ve already acquired, in apprenticeships they are hired for the skills they will acquire – at a reduced wage that will increase as they gain competency.

  Apprentices take classes while they are working, combining technical knowledge with on the job learning. At the end of the apprenticeship, apprentices earn industry-recognized certifications and a nationally recognized credential from the U.S. Department of Labor.

• How long are registered apprenticeship programs?

  Typically 12 or 18 months.