How to register an apprenticeship program with the DOL

The apprenticeship training system is unique in that its basic foundation is a partnership between industry, education and government. Apprenticeship is essentially a system of learning while earning, or “learning by doing” which combines training on the job with related and supplemental instruction at school.

To become an official apprenticeship in the United States, you need to register your program with either a state or federal apprenticeship agency. In this article, we're going to focus on registering with the Department of Labor, which represents roughly half of the states as the federal apprenticeship agency. Registering an apprenticeship is a multi-step process, with lots of nuances to it. So before we dive into registering your program, let’s tackle some basics!

Overview

This article we will help with the following:

• Questions you can ask yourself to prepare (including resources to help you get started)

• The difference between OA + SAA apprenticeships

• How to sign up for an account on the DOL website

• How to use Standards Builders to create your apprenticeship

• How to Register your apprenticeship with the DOL

This article will discuss how to create and register your program with the Department of Labor (DOL / OA states). The apprenticeship system tends to organize itself around states so even though you'll be registering with the DOL, you'll be doing so with a state specific office.

Stay tuned for future articles pertaining to State-specific registration!

What Should I Know As I Begin To Start My Apprenticeship Program?

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you prepare to create your apprenticeship program:

• Who is eligible? (i.e. age, education level, work experience)

• What type of Apprenticeship will this be? Will it be time based (where skills are assessed based on amount of time spent), or competency (where skills are evaluated based on apprentice competency) or a hybrid (a combination of both)?

• What industry and job will this apprenticeship be a part of? (i.e. Electrician, Medical Assistant)

• Are there already guidelines available for this type of apprenticeship that I can utilize in creating my apprenticeship program?

• How many apprentices can we manage in the initial program?

• Who will be supervising the apprentices on-the-job training (OJT)?

• Who will be supervising the apprentices educational training (RI or RSI)?

• Do I need to partner with an outside organization (i.e. a community college or training center) to help with the educational part of my apprenticeship? If so, you can find more resources here.

These are just some questions that will help you begin creating your apprenticeship program. While some of this can feel overwhelming, like learning a new language, know you are not alone. No one knows how to do something perfectly the first time!

There are some great resources available to help you on this journey. For example, check out apprenticeshipstandards.org to see if there’s already an occupational outline for the type of apprenticeship you are looking to create. This will help you get a better understanding of how to structure different types of apprenticeship, what skills are part of OJT for your occupation, what training has previously been provided for other apprenticeship programs like yours, and the duration of the apprenticeship.

You will also be able to view the Appendix A, which is part of federal apprenticeship standards documentation, which lists many of the details about your apprenticeship program.

Are you in an OA or SAA State?

Before starting down this path, you'll want to look up whether your state is an OA or SAA state as it will determine whether this guide is useful for you. You can find your state on apprenticeship.gov to answer this question. But what exactly does that mean?

The apprenticeship system consists of two types of entities responsible for registering and overseeing Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs). These entities include the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Apprenticeship (OA) and Recognized State Apprenticeship Agencies (SAA). We'll cover the differences between OA and SAA states in further detail at a later time, but for now, determine if you're in an OA state. If you are, this guide is for you!

Create Your Apprenticeship Account at Apprenticeship.gov

Now that you've determined you're in an OA state, let's create your account with the DOL. Visit the apprenticeship.gov employer page and select Register.

This will take you away from the DOL site and to the Login.gov Standards Builder site, where you will first need to Create An Account.

Next, you'll be prompted to set up an authentication method to add a second layer of security, agree to terms, and finally you'll have a profile.

From here you can either navigate to:

1. Standards Builder - If you know your occupation is apprenticeable, choose this to build your apprenticeship standards which will serve as the foundational agreement for your program

2. Apprenticeship Occupation Request - If you cannot determine if your apprenticeship occupation is ok to register, you can always check with an Apprenticeship Representative. They can help you determine the proper O*Net code for your occupation and give you additional information.

We're going to focus on Standards Builder for this guide. When you are ready for the Standards Builder, click ENROLL NOW.

Create New Standards in Standards Builder

To become an apprenticeship program, you need to register standards that define how your apprenticeship program will operate. These standards will need to meet criteria set by other programs of similar occupations. As previously mentioned, you can see examples of part of standards in apprenticeshipstandards.org, but Standards Builder can help you further flesh these out. Once in Standards Builder, you can View Sample Documents, Explore Occupations or Create New Standards. We're going to Create New Standards as the Sponsor. The sponsor is the organization that registers the standards for the apprenticeship and will be responsible for seeing apprentices hit the approved criteria.

Choose My Organization is the Sponsor to start answering questions about your program:

• Answer the initial questions pertaining to where your apprenticeship is located and how many apprentices you intend to have

• Add your Sponsor Contact

• Add your Company information

• Determine the ONET code for your occupation. Don't know your ONET? You can find your occupation code at ONET Online.

You will then have to answer questions about the following:

• Type of Apprenticeship (time based, competency based, hybrid)

• How you will run the program

• Types of skills the apprentice will be performing (OJT)

• Educational requirements (RI) and who will be providing them (training provider if not you)

• Probationary period and duration

• Wage increase steps throughout the apprenticeship

• Process of how you will select apprentices

This is where you might say to yourself -- I don't know what any of this is. Neither did we (for a time)! The best way to start to learn is to review other examples of apprenticeships using some of the resources mentioned in this article. NOTE: Each one of those items will be its own blog post from WorkHands eventually. This just gives you a good overview of where you're going. More directions are coming soon.

Once you have all this information entered, your standards will be sent for approval by an assigned DOL representative, also known as an ATR or apprenticeship training representative. We highly encourage you to build a relationship with your representative. They're your first source of help for registering, access to resources, best practices, and more.

Approval Time

Approval can take a few weeks, and they will very likely contact you with questions. Once your standards are complete, they will be submitted for approval and signatures with DOL. Then a meeting will take place for program registration between you and your ATR.

At this point you will have completed Standards and can begin registering apprentices! Of course, this is just the beginning but for many this can be a daunting task. The goal here is to demonstrate each step in the process so its more transparent, saving you time, energy, and simplifying your apprenticeship journey. Good luck!