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A qualified person of legal working age who has entered into a written agreement with an employer under which the employer is to provide an opportunity for the apprentice to learn an apprenticeship occupation. 

Apprenticeship is a unique, voluntary training through which individuals acquire trade and craft skills and knowledge. Training combines daily on-the-job instruction in manipulative skills with periodic classroom (related) instruction in technical subjects related to work requirements. The training design provides for learning all required practical and theoretical skills and knowledge for the chosen skilled occupation. Practical aspects of work are mastered on the job as apprentices are rotated through all phases of their particular occupations. Theoretical aspects of work are mastered during related subject instruction in the classroom. Related instruction continues throughout the apprenticeship term and provides an opportunity to consider, in depth, the underlying principles of job activities. This arrangement of on-the-job and classroom instruction is a standard part of typical apprenticeship indenturing agreements. It ensures the individual’s employability and guarantees competent workers for industry by providing for learning the complete range of skills and knowledge during training. 

A required written agreement or contract between apprentice and program sponsor concerning the terms of employment and training experience of the apprentice during the learning period. The agreement sets forth expectations, duties and obligations of each party for the term of the apprenticeship. Among items typically incorporated into the agreement are the provision for related instruction, overtime regulations, minimum wage schedule for each period in the apprenticeship term, and approximate time schedule for training in different aspects of the occupation. 

“A program registered with the U. S. Department of Labor or the state apprenticeship agency in accordance with the Act of August 16, 1937, commonly known as the National Apprenticeship Act, which is conducted or sponsored by an employer, a group of employers, or a joint apprenticeship committee representing both employees and a union, and which contains all terms conditions for the qualification, recruitment, selection, employment and training apprentices.” 

Yes. The national apprenticeship system includes over 50,000 apprentices registered in program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces. Some are civilians. 

No; however, many companies generally will allow some credit based on bona fide work records provided by either the previous employer or prospective employee. In fact, credit may be given on past employment even if the past employer was not participating in a registered apprenticeship program. Prospective employers may require testing to verify the potential employee’s performance level. 

Yes

Yes

No

Yes. Apprentices must be full-time or near full-time employees of the company to which they are apprenticed. However, in the event of school-to-apprentice programs, registered apprentices may be part-time. Apprenticeship activities may cease for the apprentice if either laid off or unemployed. Cessation or continuance of apprenticeship activities may depend on length of time of layoff or unemployment. 

Usually the wage scale begins at 40%-50% of a journeyperson’s rate and increased progressively with satisfactory completion of work assignments and training segments. Near the end of the apprenticeship term, pay ranges from 90%-95% of the full journeyperson’s rate. 

Apprentices are directly supervised by journeyworker. The ratio of apprentices assigned to a journeyworker is dependent on the trade or craft involved, union contracts, and other agreements. 

Related instruction is the “classroom: portion of apprenticeship and is an integral part of an apprenticeship program. It provides each apprentice with the related instruction and technical knowledge base necessary to become a successful journeyworker. It also provides additional practice and useful example of job-related skills and knowledge at work. All registered programs include related subject instruction. The National Apprenticeship and Training Standards require that minimum of 144 per year of apprenticeship training be provide to each trainee in related and supplementary subjects. This period of time can be increased by trade and craft standards or by program sponsors if content warrants the increase. Some industries require as much as 200 to 300 hours yearly in related subject study by apprentices. Some states require all related training to be provided by the public school or institutions. 

The contents of related subject instructions, like the number of hours required, varies by trade or craft. In general, the kinds of subjects taught include:

A. The theory, principles, and technical knowledge needed on the job;

B. Auxiliary information that assists workers to better accept and discharge their responsibilities; and

C. Occasional manipulative skills that are important to the craft or trade but are not provided conveniently in the apprentice’s on-the-job training. Frequently this means that related subjects instruction includes the principles, concepts, and information that apprentices must know and use from the subject matter such as mathematics, general physical sciences, safety, basic measurement, and blueprint reading, as well as the study of trade-specific materials and work processes and procedures. In addition, related subject instruction helps to ensure that workers can communicate effectively in job-specific ways, can work effectively in organizations, and have knowledge about apprenticeship system. However, regardless of the trade, craft, or situation, the subject matter is current on job demands, practical, and directly useful in working in the craft or trade. 

Yes, the arrangement of on-the-job and related instruction is a standard part of typical apprenticeship indenturing agreements. 

In order to be certified as a completer by the Office of Apprenticeship, an apprentice must attend and successfully complete the program of related instruction. 

Related training (instruction) continues throughout the apprenticeship term. 

144 hours or more, depending on the craft or trade. 

At the public secondary schools offering adult education and at postsecondary institutions. Related instruction can also be conducted at a plant, union hall, etc. Many of the union apprenticeship programs are fully staffed by journey-level teachers. In extenuation circumstances for example: when the apprentice lives in a rural area or when the particular apprenticeable trade population does no warrant class size training, the related training may be provided to the apprentice(s) by correspondence course or by independent study arrangements. Some states mandate that the public schools and institutions provide related training. 

The sponsor of the program established training curriculum. Some trades and crafts with national associations or unions provide nationally-recognized curriculum; however, such curriculum may be tailored to the local level need of the program. 

Some apprentices attend related training on weekends or evenings. Other may attend during the workday. i.e., two days per month. 

If the apprentice attends related training provided during the workday, the employer may be required to provide half-pay or some other reduced rate of pay. Provisions for paying apprentices to attend related training would be provided for in the indenturing agreement or in contractual form. 

Apprenticeable occupations generally are defined as those occupations for which:

A. Skills are primarily learned through a combination of on-the-job training supplemented by related instruction;

B. Requires at least 2000 hours of work experience plus related instruction;

C. Involves manual, mechanical, or technical skills and is practiced industry-wide as a recognizable trade or craft;

D. Involves the development of a body of skills sufficiently well-defined to be applicable throughout an industry; and

E. Does not primarily involve only selling, managerial, clerical, or professional activities. 

As of February 01 2012, over 1000 occupations were recognized by the U. S. Department of Labor as being apprenticeable. More are added from year to year. 

Too numerous to mention here; however, the current occupations “by the Office of Apprenticeship are available from your local Office of Apprenticeship Representative. 

Requirements vary depending upon the apprenticeable trade or craft. Some require very specific educational requirements; however, most require a high school diploma or its equivalent. 

The program sponsor plans, administers, and pays for the program. 

The program sponsor can be individual employers, groups of employers, or combinations of employers and unions, combination of equal numbers of employers and unions are called joint labor management apprenticeship committees. The term often is shortened to Joint Apprenticeship Committee (JAC) or Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee (JATC). The latter term, JATC, applies if the committee administers a journeyperson training program to upgrade skills in addition to directing an apprentice program. Committees may represent labor and management interests at the national, state, or local level. Program sponsors may be governmental agencies at all levels, including universities and the military. 

The sponsor sets policy concerning the conduct of the program. The sponsor’s jurisdiction includes selecting and indenturing apprentices, supervising training, establishing training curriculum, and certifying apprentices as journeyworker upon completion of the program. 

It is an agency of the United States Department of Labor that stimulated and assists industry in the development, expansion, and improvement of apprenticeship and training programs. The Office of Apprenticeship’s principal functions is to encourage the establishment of sound apprenticeship and training programs and to provide technical assistance to industry in setting up such programs. 

The federal role, as authorized by the National Apprenticeship Act of 1937, is to promote labor standards that safeguard the welfare of apprentices and to guide, improve, and assist apprenticeship. The Office of Apprenticeship is also responsible for registering apprenticeship programs and individual apprentices. 

By providing evaluation and assessment services, associate degree programs, pre-apprenticeship experiences, curriculum development projects, instructor training and certification, related instruction, and advisory committee participation. Few of these are provided to the apprenticeship system. Generally, the related instruction is the most common type of service available from the educational system. 

A worker who has satisfactorily completed an apprenticeship and is classified as a skilled worker in that trade or craft. The journeyworker level of competency is conferred by a registered program sponsor. 

No

60% - 70%

Mid-twenties. 

It is a collaborative effort between business, industry, labor, the Office of Apprenticeship, and education. The linkage may serve secondary, postsecondary, or adult students. School-to-Apprenticeship Programs are similar to cooperative education; both involve formalized on-the-job training and require related classroom instruction. Sometimes, school-to-apprenticeship is part of co-op, with co-op coordinators recruiting the youth, assisting in placement, and arranging for related instruction. 

To enable persons to achieve apprenticeship entrance competencies and advanced standing while achieving their formal educational requirements. Students are guided into part-time (cooperative) employment or preparatory in-school training as registered, part-time apprentices leading to an accepted journeyworker level as an occupational goal, including transition to full-time registered apprenticeship upon satisfactory completion of the formal vocational/technical program. 

No. The Office of Apprenticeship provides only a certificate of completion of the apprenticeship program. The Office of Apprenticeship does not certify completers of the apprenticeship as journeyworkers. If the apprentice is a member of a union, the union (under its own rules) may provide journeyworker certification. 

National 1987 data indicated that each year approximately 320,000 individuals participated in 45,000 registered apprenticeship programs. National 1989 data indicated that 22% of the apprentices were minorities and 7% were females. 

Yes. Most technical colleges offer college credit for many apprentices. Many large corporations/unions nationally have transferred apprenticeship-related training to postsecondary institutions from non-postsecondary schools in order for the apprentices to receive college credit. 

(a) Gaining varied skills through instruction and experience in all major aspects of a trade or craft; (b) Learning to work in harmony with different types of trades and crafts people in a work setting (c) Learning to work in a company or work organization; 

For the program sponsor, the advantages for participating in the apprenticeship training system include the following:

A. Developing and ensuring a supply of trained, skilled, and knowledgeable workers and supervisors for their occupations:

B. Increasing workers productivity, overall skill levels, and versatility;

C. Lessening the need for supervision of employees by developing initiative, pride in craftsmanship, speed and accuracy in work; and

D. Continuing to attract a constant flow of capable people in the trade or craft. 

The traditional apprenticeship system stipulates requirements about the time-period for training. For example, the required length of time for training ranges from one to six years, depending upon the specific trade. The majority of programs require three to four years of work and study to complete an apprenticeship. 

Under the performance-based approach, the time required by an apprentice to accomplish individual tasks and complete the overall program depends on the apprentice’s ability to complete the work. Apprentices are permitted to move ahead at their own pace, depending on their prior training, ability to master the task, and motivation to progress. 

A council created by a state to encourage apprenticeship training within the state’s industries and by establishing minimum standards as a basis for apprenticeship training. The councils also assist and promote interest in the establishment of apprenticeship training and by serving as a clearinghouse for all matters pertaining to apprenticeship training in the state. The councils work in cooperation with the Office of Apprenticeship. Each council uses the Office of Apprenticeship standards establishing programs but may add any other state requirements in addition to the Office of Apprenticeship specifications. 

State Apprenticeship Councils are not required by federal law. Throughout the U.S. 32 states do have such state councils. 

Electrician, carpenter, plumber, pipe fitter and sheet metal worker. In fact, nearly 80% of all registered apprentices in the United States are in the building or metal trades. 

The time apprentices spend on the job under journeyworker supervision, learning step-by-step, through demonstration and practice, the individual work process of a chosen skilled occupation. 

Individuals should get in touch with their local employment service office or the appropriate joint apprenticeship committee, union, or employers for the craft they want to enter.

Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Data System.

Occupation Information Network.

Registered Apprenticeship Program.

Pre-Apprenticeship is a program or set of strategies that is designed to prepare individuals to enter and succeed in a Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP).

An individual who is employed to learn an apprenticeable occupation and is registered with a sponsor in an approved apprenticeship program. 

The United State Department of Labor serves as the oversight body to the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. 

Role in Office of Apprenticeship, US Department of Labor

Role in Office of Apprenticeship, US Department of Labor

A skilled trade(s) or craft(s), which has been recognized by the United States Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship, Training, Employer, and Labor Services (OATELS). APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM: A plan for administering an apprenticeship agreement(s). The plan must contain all terms and conditions for the qualification, recruitment, selection, employment and training of apprentices, including such matters as the requirement for a written apprenticeship agreement. 

The sponsor of an apprenticeship program is the organization that is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the program is being run properly and according to the program standards and federal regulations.

An apprenticeship intermediary is an organization with the capacity, expertise, and network to help businesses successfully create, launch, and expand apprenticeship programs. Intermediaries could be any of the following: Industry Associations and Business Organizations, Community and Technical Colleges, Non-Profit and Community-Based Organizations, Labor Management Partnerships, or Workforce Development Boards.

Workforce Development Boards direct federal, state, and local funding to workforce development programs. They help employers meet their needs for skilled workers and help career seekers find career and economic advancement.

Sometimes called simply “the standards;” the document that describes how the program will be managed and is officially signed by the DOL OA and the apprenticeship sponsor to register the program.

Tasks learned on-the-job in which the apprentice must be proficient before a completion certificate is granted. OJL makes up the majority of an apprenticeship program, approximately two thousand (2000) hours per year.

Can be Time-Based, Competency-Based, or Hybrid; describes the on-the-job learning that the apprentice must complete in order to complete their apprenticeship program. Also known as Appendix A.

A time-based apprenticeship where apprentice progress is measured by the number of hours the apprentice has spent working during their apprenticeship in a variety of Work Process categories that are defined by the employer.

A competency-based apprenticeship where apprentice progress is measured by their attainment of competencies rather than time spent on the job; the required competencies are defined by the employer and approved by the DOL OA.

A hybrid apprenticeship where apprentice progress is measured by a combination of hours worked on the job and competencies achieved.

Classroom and other forms of instruction to reinforce the on-the-job training. The related instruction can be provided during working hours or during non-working hours. Related instruction equals one hundred forty-four (144) hours per year. 

An organization that delivers related instruction (RI) in an apprenticeship program; there can be multiple RI providers utilized in one apprenticeship program.

The minimum wage rates for apprentices at various points in their apprenticeship program; must include at least one wage increase; included in the program Appendix A.

A written agreement between sponsor and apprentice that establishes the terms of the apprenticeship and that has been registered with the registration agency. 

(1) Joint Apprenticeship and Training Committee, composed equally from management and labor; (2) where no employee association (union) exists, a committee established by the sponsor to administer the sponsor’s apprenticeship program.

Any person, plant, firm, facility or organization employing an apprentice, whether or not a party to the apprenticeship agreement with the apprentice. 

An individual who has sufficient skills and knowledge of a trade, craft or occupation, either through formal apprenticeship or through practical on-the-job experience, to be recognized by a state or federal registration agency and/or an industry as being fully qualified to perform the work of the trade, craft or occupation. 

Indicates a program that is jointly sponsored by a group of employers and a labor organization with a collective bargaining agreement. It is administered by employer and employee representatives from an apprenticeship and training committee composed equally from management and labor. 

Indicates a program where there is no labor organization or collective bargaining agreement. It is sponsored by employer association(s) and administered by an apprenticeship committee composed equally from employer and employee representatives. 

Indicates a program where there is no labor organization or collective bargaining agreement. It is sponsored by employer association(s) and administered by an apprenticeship committee composed equally from employer and employee representatives. 

American Job Centers are resource centers where job seekers can get employment information, find out about career development training opportunities, and connect to various employment opportunities in their area.

A SRE is a third-party entity, recognized by the Department as qualified to evaluate, recognize, and oversee Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs) consistent with DOL’s standards. Connect with an SRE if you are looking for an innovative, flexible, industry-driven approach to administering an apprenticeship program that is recognized by a leader in your industry or occupation.

An internship is a period of work experience offered by an employer to give students and graduates exposure to the working environment, often within a specific industry, which relates to their field of study.  Internships can be as short as a week or as long as 12 months. They can be paid or unpaid.

An externship is a short, unpaid, and informal internship where students spend anywhere from a single day to a few weeks getting exposure to what its like to work at a company. The word externship is a hybrid of “experience” and “internship”

Protected Groups defined by race, color, national origin, religion, age, sex (gender), sexual orientation, physical or mental disability.

Equal Employment Opportunities.

Pre-apprenticeship is a program designed to prepare individuals to enter and succeed in a Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP). 

Quality pre-apprenticeship programs can play a valuable role in providing work-based learning to help people prepare for an entry-level RAP. While pre-apprenticeship programs have varied designs and approaches, the Department of Labor outlined 6 (six) elements of a quality pre-apprenticeship program.

Student/Career Seeker: A pre-apprenticeship program can help you prepare for the apprenticeship that is right for you.

Employer: Save time and money: Pre-Apprenticeship programs provide pre-screened, ready-to-work employees who have been trained in the specific skills employers need.

Educator: Many successful pre-apprenticeship programs are housed at high schools and community colleges because they offer hands-on learning opportunities for students.

No. A pre-apprenticeship is a good resume and skills builder for people with little to no experience in the skilled trade professional occupations. It helps prepare individuals for the expectations and the culture of working full-time. 

A pre-apprenticeship is an opportunity to foster skills and for those who lack industry experience. Generally speaking, applicants with industry experience may be overqualified and may not find the program beneficial.

Currently, the program is no-cost.

Class size ranges from 12 – 16, depending on social distancing mandates.

5 weeks, Monday-Thursday, 8:00am-4:00pm.

Typically, pre-apprentices are between the ages of 16-24.  This program requires and individual to be 18 years of age or older. 

Shop math (45 hours), blueprint reading (45 hours), industrial safety (30 hours) and precision measuring and instrumentation (8 hours). The program focuses on the skilled trade professional occupations in advanced manufacturing.  

Textbooks, access to online curriculum, soft skills and resume writing. Pre-apprentices will also be interviewed for employment and for direct-entry into U.S. Department of Labor approved, Registered Apprenticeship. Pre-apprentices are not guaranteed direct entry.

After successful completion, an individual will receive a College Certificate of Completion and 8 (eight) academic credits - shop math (APM-8110, 3 credits), blueprint reading (TED-1030, 3 credits) and general safety (APT-8310, 2 credits), an OSHA 10 Certificate (if not already earned), and the Mike Rowe WORKS Ethic Employability Certificate.

Yes, 120 hours towards the Related Instruction (RI) of an apprenticeship if the employer accepts.

To be successful in the program, the majority of the work can be completed in the classroom. If the homework cannot be completed in the classroom than expect a minimum of 5 hours per week.  Tutoring is also available for pre-apprentices.

Yes, depending on the time of the program offering.  Individuals can take classes concurrently with the program or after. Oakland Community College (OCC) offers 8-week course offerings during the 15 week semesters.  Individuals should not overwhelm themselves with a heavy course load if a new college student.  

Qualifications:
Complete and submit the following to apprenticeship@oaklandcc.edu:
• Skilled Trades Interest Form
• Pre-apprenticeship Program Application
• Resume
• Copy of Driver’s License/State ID
• Letter of Recommendation
• Apply to OCC

Upload signed documentation from your medical provider (within 5 years) of your disability and necessary accommodation and append to our Application for the program. For more information regarding disability services, visit ACCESS.

Yes, for more veteran information. 

Attendance Policies
Yes. Attendance is critical. Pre-apprentices are required to attend all classroom training and hands-on instruction, industry tours, and interviews. Documentation of any attendance or tardy-related issue is encouraged (tow receipt, doctor’s note, etc.).

Yes. An Individual must make an appointment with their local Michigan Works Office in Oakland County.  OCC has many services on campus and will connect students to the Financial Aid office.