How to find an apprenticeship near you?

So you’re convinced apprenticeships might be a good move. (Maybe you've been following along with our posts for potential apprentices? ...No? Why not?!) Anyways, next question: how do you actually find one? Let's start with the bad news. This is still WAY harder than it should be. It's one of our big focuses over the coming year because most people don't have the time or resources to really track these down. It's getting better, and there's a few tips or tricks to make your life easier.

Know what you're looking for

That sounds crazy, doesn't it? You're just learning about what apprenticeships are. How is it even possible to know what you're looking for? Well, start with something -- anything. If you know you're only looking for healthcare apprenticeships, or building trades apprenticeships, it'll massively simplify your search. Also, know that you should be looking for list of all apprenticeships AND list of openings. They'll both give you a part of the picture.

Timeliness matters

Apprenticeships aren't always available at all times of the year. It really helps to know what you're looking for so you can plan accordingly. Sure, some employer-based apprenticeships are recruiting year-round, but many are not. A good number of apprenticeships -- much like colleges -- will accept applications once or twice a year. Typically, you'll find programs accepting applications sometime in the summer around July/August. Others may have an additional cycle in December/January.

This you'll need to plan into your schedule that this could be a months long process.

Ask questions

If you have any questions about a program you're interested in, just reach out and ask. The asking of the question could be one of the most valuable things you do. It puts you on the radar of the program. Maybe they have an email list? Often, it's not a huge staff of people running an apprenticeship. It's very likely you're talking to one of the three main people handling things. In fact, it can be one of the neat things about apprenticeships -- you might have the coordinator's phone number publicly listed for you to call and talk to directly. Especially in the trades, this type of old school initiative works.

Multiple entry points

Another thing to know about finding apprenticeships is that, depending on the industry, who you apply to might vary. Some apprenticeships are run by community colleges where you apply to the college, and they help vet you for employers who make the final hiring decision. In some programs, you apply to the union. In other programs, you apply to work with the employer, and they can recommend you to their apprenticeship program once you've demonstrated you're a good working fit. In other cases, it's a very clear employer apprenticeship you're applying for. The industry and the sponsor -- ie, whomever is running the apprenticeship -- will determine the correct route into the program. We wish this wasn't so complicated, but until that changes, it's good to have the full picture.

Online resources

OK, now that you know you need to know a bit about what you're looking for, so you can time your application, ask questions, and figure out the right entry point, how do you actually find apprenticeships? Like many things in apprenticeships, it depends. Let's start with your best starting point.

Apprenticeship.gov

Depending on where you're based, this might be the whole story. The apprenticeship system is broken into OA and SAA states. The state you're in will dictate how important apprenticeship.gov is. If you're in an OA state, it's likely one of your best sources. If you're in an SAA state, it might help but likely isn't the whole story. (Read that article, figure out what type of state you're in.) Apprenticeship.gov has lists of apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship Job Finder. You'll likely want to use both.

State Apprenticeship Websites

If you're in an SAA state, or any state, really, it's worth doing a search for "Apprenticeships in [State]". It's very likely you'll find a list of apprenticeships on a state website. You might find a state site for openings like Missouri's Apprentice Connect or New York's Recruitment Announcements, but even a list of apprenticeship programs -- not necessarily recruiting ones -- will get you going on your search. Often, you'll find a list of apprenticeship programs like the ones from Washington's ARTS site. These lists don't tell you who's recruiting now so you'll need to do some additional diligence beyond the list, but they will tell you what's out there.

Check Local Unions and Trade Associations

If you’re interested in construction, electrical, or mechanical trades, your local union or trade association is a goldmine. Depending on whether your state leands union or non-union, you'll want to look for things like IBEW or IEC in your state. Google -- or ChatGPT -- is your friend here. You'll want to use search terms with your state or your region that include "UA", "Ironworkers", "Carpenters", "ABC" and apprenticeship.

These types of programs have been around the longest, typically have pretty set schedules, and often require an in-person applications. They're not terribly hard to find if you know what you're looking for.

Local Community Colleges

Historically, many apprenticeships worked with community colleges for the related training portion of the apprenticeship, only. Now, some community colleges have started running their own apprenticeships. If you know of a few local colleges, try searching their name and apprenticeship, ie, "My Local Community College Apprenticeship" and see what comes up. You might be surprised by the overlap.

Pro tip: Even if the college doesn’t run the program, they probably know who does.

Use Job Boards Like Indeed or LinkedIn

Many apprenticeships are run by an employer without any affiliation to a union or training center. These employers tend to post jobs on the same job boards as all of their other positions. Search for "Apprentice" or "Apprenticeship" in your area, and you're likely to find apprenticeships on the usual job boards. One thing to pay attention to here, however, is that the terms "apprenticeship" gets a lot more flexible as you get away from official sites. To the government and to unions, apprenticeship means a very specific training program. To some employers, it's a glorified internship. You'll need to do your homework to tell the difference.

Employers know they need to advertise these roles just like any other job, so don’t sleep on regular job sites.

WorkHands

We've been rolling out tools to consolidate everything we just mentioned above. You can search by state, by industry. We have programs we work with posting jobs to apply directly on WorkHands, and we're working to promote openings for other programs even if we don't work with them. More to come from us on this one, but for now, that should be plenty to get you started on your way. And if there's something we missed, let us know!