Let Us Help You Build Your Apprenticeship

Benefits for Business:

• Highly‐skilled employees

• Reduced turnover costs

• Higher productivity

• More diverse workforce

Benefits for Workers:

• Increased skills

• Higher Wages

• National credential

• Career advancement

Benefits for Workforce Intermediaries and Education Organizations:

• Proven model to help job seekers immediately start working and increase skills and earnings

• Effective strategy to connect with employers in diverse fields and to use as part of industry sector strategies

Apprenticeship Fast Facts:

• Provides the credential equivalent of a 2– or 4– year degree

• Average starting salary: $50,000

• Completing a Registered Apprenticeship program = $300,000 more over the course of a career

• Increases workforce skill, productivity, and morale

• 150,000 employers and labor management organizations participate

• Nearly 400,000 apprenticeships are available nationwide in more than 1,000 occupations

Every Partner Has a Critical Role to Play

Business Partners:

• Identify the skills and knowledge that apprentices must learn

• Hire new workers or select current employees to be apprentices

• Provide on-the-job training Identify an experienced mentor to work with apprentices

• Pay progressively higher wages as skills increase

• Can provide related instruction in-house or in partnership with others

Workforce Intermediaries:

• Provide industry and workforce-specific expertise (e.g., curriculum development) to support employers in a particular industry sector

• Can serve as the sponsor of an apprenticeship program, taking responsibility for the administration of the program (thereby reducing the burden on employers)

• Aggregate demand for apprentices, particularly with small and medium-sized employers that may not have the capacity to develop an apprenticeship program independently.

• Can be the provider of related instruction and supportive services as appropriate

Educational Institutions:

• Develop curriculum for related instruction

• Deliver related instruction to apprentices

• Can provide college credit for courses completed

• Aggregate demand for apprentices

Public Workforce System:

• Develop sector and career pathway strategies utilizing apprenticeship

• Recruit and screen candidates to be apprentices

• Provide basic skills preparation

• Provide supportive services such as tools, uniforms, equipment, or textbooks

• Contribute funding for on-the-job training or related instruction

Apprenticeship System:

• Provided technical assistance and support to new sponsors (employers)

• Answer questions about the apprenticeship model

• Guide the partners through the steps to develop and register a program

• Connect businesses with training providers

• Advise partners on sources of funding to support apprenticeships.

Other partners play important roles too. For example, economic development organizations can serve as a convener of regional businesses. The K-12 educational system can help develop pipelines to apprenticeship for students. Community-based organizations may be able to help specific worker populations such as women or veterans and can provide supportive services to apprentices.

Business Involvement

Employers are the foundation of every apprenticeship program, and the skills needed by their workforce are at the core. Businesses must play an active role in building the program and be involved in every step of designing the apprenticeship.

On-the-Job Training

Every program includes structured on-the-job training. Apprentices get hands-on training from an experienced mentor at the job site for typically not less than one year. On-the-job training is developed by mapping the skills and knowledge that the apprentice must learn over the program to be fully proficient at the job.

Related Instruction

Apprentices receive related instruction that compliments on–the–job learning. This instruction delivers the technical, workforce, and academic competencies that apply to the job. It can be provided by a community college, a technical school, an apprenticeship training school, or the business itself. Education partners collaborate with companies to develop the curriculum based on the skills and knowledge needed by apprentices. All partners work together to identify how to pay for the related instruction, including the cost to the employer and other funds that can be leveraged.

Rewards for Skill Gains

Apprentices receive increases in pay as their skills and knowledge increase. Start by establishing an entry and an ending wage, and build in progressive wage increases through the apprenticeship as the apprentices attain skill benchmarks. Progressive wage increases help reward and motivate apprentices as they advance through their training.

National Occupational Credential

Every graduate of a Registered Apprenticeship program receives a nationally recognized credential. As you build the program, keep[ in mind that apprenticeship programs are designed to ensure that apprentices master every skill and have all the knowledge needed to be fully proficient in a specific occupation

Why is it important to register your apprenticeship program?

• Technical Assistance and Support. The program joins the ApprenticeshipUSA network, which provides access to a nationwide network of expertise, customer service, and support at no charge.

• National Credential. Graduates of Registered Apprenticeship programs receive a national, industry-recognized credential, recommended and backed by the employer and issued by the Kentucky Office of Apprenticeship with the full support of the U.S. Department of Labor

• Quality Standards. Registration means the program has met national and independent standards for quality and rigor. Registration tells prospective employees, customers, and suppliers that you invest in your workforce and believe your employees are your most important asset.

• Potential for federal, state, and local financial incentives as part of the ApprenticeshipUSA network.

• Federal Resources. Businesses and apprentices can access funding and other resources from many federal programs to help support their Registered apprenticeship programs.

What federal resources are available to support Registered Apprenticeship programs?

• Over $1 billion for employment and training services is available through Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act programs across the country. These programs can provide training funds to support on-the-job training and related instruction and support services to help apprentices.

• Apprentices may be eligible for Federal Financial Aid under certain circumstances. If the apprenticeship is connected to a school’s program of study, apprentices may be eligible for Pell Grants. $3.000 on average per apprentice, and the school may choose to provide federal work-study grants, $2.000 on average per apprentice.

• By becoming approved for the GI Bill, Registered apprenticeship programs can assist their current and future Veteran apprentices with the benefits they’ve earned. Veterans who qualify for the GI Bill can receive a monthly stipend )paid by the Veteran Affairs), in addition to the wages they receive in an apprenticeship registered Apprenticeship program sponsors can be certified under the GI Bill usually within 30 days.

What state resources are available to support Registered Apprenticeship programs?

• Bluegrass State Skills Corporation grant funds are available for employers on a competitive basis for training the workforce of a Kentucky employer.

• The state's Workforce Innovation Board and local Workforce Innovation Boards have funding available to assist with on-the-job training and the specific needs of the apprentice.

• Work-ready scholarships

• Tax credits?

With the program registered, you are now ready to move forward to launch your apprenticeship program. The partnerships formed as you were exploring the possibilities of Registered Apprenticeship are as critical now—partner collaboration is essential to successfully launching and sustaining your apprenticeship program.