When considering a tech apprenticeship program one of the questions that will inevitably arise very early on is: should the program seek to be registered with either the US Department of Labor or an individual state. TLDR; I am on the side of registering and doing things the right way from the start, but registration may only have a marginal impact on the early phase of program implementation. Read on to understand this better.
The practice of hiring early career folks with little or no experience and providing an on-the-job paid learning experience is in essence an apprenticeship even when it is not registered with a governing body. I often refer to this as ‘Apprenticeship Lite’. When just the pattern is being used, but there is no official recognition of the program. Apprenticeship can and often does still fit well inside an organization’s recruiting and talent development programs. These programs can be done entirely under the design and oversite of the organization alone. Even though a company has the ability to hire and train early-career tech talent as they choose, (I generally don’t see this as problematic for good actors), following the ‘official’ way is not tough. It probably shouldn’t be flat out avoided. It has some hoops and hurdles, but it also provides some great benefits.
Some of the benefits that come with registering a tech apprenticeship program include:
– Access to the DOL’s online resources which can include apprenticeship resources and tools, program templates, and a variety of other apprenticeship-related materials
– Registration allows the DOL to track the number of apprentices in a program and their location
– Some federal dollars may be available to offset costs associated with apprenticeship training
– The program can be listed in online apprenticeship directories to attract candidates
And each state may also have its own set of benefits and incentives for employers.
How hard is registering?
Here is the way the official registration process works at a high level:
In California, it begins with an email to the Department of Industrial Relations Division of Apprenticeship Standards. It is very much a manual onboarding process. A company that wants to register a program must typically reach out to the state or DOL and request information. There is no fee, and a consultant will be assigned to help your business draft standards. Those standards contain a description of the program, length, learning/experience objectives, wages, etc. It sets a minimum standard that participants can expect and it enforces best practices for screening and admitting participants. This draft standard usually has to be approved by a governing body and posted for a public comment period before it is approved. You may also be assigned a Local Education Agency (LEA), think of them as an accountability partner. The process of landing a deal with one of them can take a bit of time because they often are community colleges or adult schools with their own programs. Your consultant will help you find a match.
It is free and not terribly painful, so why wouldn’t a company go the official route? I’ve had companies say everything from they can’t contract with the federal government — to they don’t like the extra overhead of paperwork and approvals. Some deciders don’t like to be told how they should do anything.
Early on there will be very little funding and support, but as the years go on, more incentives may become available ie. most funding comes in the form of rebates, tax incentives, and outcomes-based grants.
I got a tremendous amount of support when I brought our draft proposal to DAS in California and the US Department of Labor. They were eager to support a tech program because they didn’t see a lot of this type of training and understood the demand from employers. Typically they see a lot of the traditional trades including Electrical, Construction, Plumbing, etc. We don’t have enough quality tech programs in the system.
If we want to have an array of options for skilling people, including “earn and learn” pathways, we have to work within the existing structure and make changes to it, rather than inventing our own and remaining in silos. New collar careers need to become the norm.
If we had more high-quality tech apprenticeships registered, more funding may be allocated. The folks that appropriate tax dollars need to see how successful these programs are at workforce development. IMHO if we had taken some PPP funding and used just a fraction of that money to well fund tech apprenticeship programs we could have created thousands of well paying tech jobs and avoided the mad scramble for tech talent we find our selves in today.
When industry and educators responsibly use public funding and produce great outcomes I believe more support will flow. Imagine new collar apprenticeships growing at scale with government backing like they do in the UK. By not registering many companies aren’t contributing to the movement and great outcomes are not being tracked.
In addition to opening the organization up to some grants and pools of funding, registering with a standard enforces more equitable hiring. The apprenticeship standard often creates priority admission for some of our most marginalized in tech and capable talent. Do you know that Veterans go to the front of the line when they apply for a Creating Coding Careers registered apprenticeship? Awesome, right? This type of written commitment is baked into the standards.
Being a registered program means that there is also a layer of oversight and accountability beyond the company. This should provide more confidence that the participants have a protections and that the program outcomes can be objectively measured. Rather than the company saying that it’s a great experience, there will be a Local Educational Partner that ensures that is the case.
Finally, registering apprentices provides a clear description of learning and the participant can easily prove what skills they have mastered after the program. Apprentices obtain an industry-recognized certificate showing job readiness. Participants can demonstrate that they have not just learned company-specific skills for a single employer, but have gained all the skills needed for the industry.
The process of designing standards and getting them approved does typically take about a year or two, but I believe that time is a great investment to ensure the long-term success of a program.
For those without the ability to wait two years, there is always the opportunity to partner with an existing registered apprenticeship program like Creating Coding Careers, which has a multi-employer apprenticeship program. Joining an existing program can net you talent immediately. Using a provider can also reduce the time to ramp up your own program and allow the company to leverage the experience of an existing outside program manager.
Whether you decide to register, practice Apprenticeship Lite, or partner with an existing registered apprenticeship, I would suggest you consider launching a pilot tech apprenticeship program at your company. Investing in apprenticeship is a great way to ensure your talent pipeline stays full all year long.
If you like what you just read, please share this article with an internal champion that may benefit from hearing more about the apprenticeship pattern.