From prototype to national infrastructure: How apprenticeshipstandards.org supports PASI

When WorkHands started its own internal apprenticeship for software developers, we ran into the same problem faced by many new programs -- crafting apprenticeship standards.

Apprenticeship standards are the backbone of apprenticeship programs. They describe exactly who will be trained, in what occupation, with which skills and courses. The approval of consistent standards by state and federal agencies is what forms the transferability of the registered apprenticeship system.

However, this information was previously locked in PDFs in directories and file folders all over the country. WorkHands built apprenticeshipstandards.org as part of prototyping a world that could be -- one where the replicable parts of standards could be searched, filtered, and easily discovered.

Now, apprenticeshipstandards.org is evolving into a national piece of infrastructure — supporting the Project on Apprenticeship Standards & Interoperability (PASI) in partnership with Alabama Commission on Higher Education and NASTAD to help shape a more transparent, accessible, and interoperable apprenticeship ecosystem.

Origins: A Prototype Built with the Urban Institute

The journey began with the Urban Institute’s Center of Excellence (CoE) for Apprenticeship Standards, the work of which is featured on Urban's Hub. The CoE identified a gap in the ecosystem: there was no central place to discover, compare, or reuse apprenticeship standards. Organizations were often building apprenticeships from scratch, even when working on similar occupations.

Our goal in the early stages was straightforward:

• Digitize standards in a structured, machine-readable form

• Build a public repository to make them easy to browse and search

Working with the Urban Institute, we developed the first version of apprenticeshipstandards.org — a lightweight but functional proof of concept showing that it was possible to standardize and collect this information across multiple sources.

That prototype demonstrated something important: when standards are findable, structured, and open, the whole system can move faster.

A New Phase: Transitioning to C-BEN and PASI

The work under the Center of Excellence ended in June 2025, but the momentum behind the CoE project led to a new home with the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN) and PASI—the national Project on Apprenticeship Standards & Interoperability.

PASI’s mission is to modernize apprenticeship infrastructure -- sustainably -- so programs can more quickly launch and align across states.

Under PASI leadership, the goals for apprenticeshipstandards.org are maturing beyond the initial proof-of-concept. The library now needs sustainability so new documents can be added more quickly and easily. It now needs to clarify interoperability between the states in the apprenticeship system.

To do that, it needs to involve more people, more authority, and more categorization. Keep an eye out for all of this over the coming years.

Where the Platform Stands Today

The current version of apprenticeshipstandards.org provides has seen 40,000 visitors since launch. It includes

• Thousands of apprenticeship standards with more added almost daily

• Individual occupation pages with clearly defined work processes and related competencies

• The ability to filter and refine searches based on type -- time-based, hybrid, competency -- as well as registration state and type

• The ability to export a standard to be used off-the-shelf or make it your own

While still evolving, the site already serves as a shared starting point for anyone working to launch or update apprenticeship programs.

What’s Next

With C-BEN and PASI, the next phase of development will focus on:

• Using technology more quickly translate documents into machine readable, searchable data

• State-by-state authority and categorizations so you know exactly which standards work in which states

• Building APIs and data access for state agencies and intermediaries

• Data standards for building future tools interoperably across governments, vendors, and education

As the platform continues to evolve, we’re inviting partners across the apprenticeship landscape to engagen— whether by sharing standards, testing features, or helping shape the next generation of apprenticeship infrastructure.

What started as a prototype is now aimed at becoming a pillar in the apprenticeship ecosystem.

Through collaboration with the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, PASI at C-BEN, NASTAD, and the Urban Institute, we’re helping build the infrastructure needed for apprenticeships to scale with quality, transparency, and clarity.

Most importantly, apprenticeshipstandards.org helps make apprenticeship simpler, and there's nothing we're more passionate about.


This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the recipient and does not necessarily reflect the official position of DOL. DOL makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on lined sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it.

The National Project on Apprenticeship Standards and Interoperability (PASI) is supported by the U.S. Department of Labor. The project is 100% funded by $12.5 million of federal funds.