REGISTER YOUR APPRENTICESHIP
REGISTER YOUR PROGRAM
Gain what you train when you hire an apprentice. Find out how to take on an apprentice and how it benefits you as an employer.
Registered apprenticeship is a formal training relationship between an employer and an employee. It is for a specific period of time. It combines hands-on work experience and classroom instruction. This leads to professional, independent, skilled workers. During this time, the worker or apprentice learns a trade.
Advantages include:
- Pipeline: Supply of skilled workers
- Cost Savings: Increased productivity and reduced turnover
- Quality Work: Structured training leads to highly skilled workforce
- Happy Workers: Increased worker retention and attendance, and good-paying jobs
- Reputation: Become an industry leader in high-quality employment and training opportunities
- Credibility: National industry recognition
According to U.S. Department of Labor statistics, 91% of apprentices remain on the job one year after employment
COMMON FAQS
We Have the Answers To Commonly Asked Questions.
Registered Apprenticeship is an effective way for businesses to ensure an ample supply of well-qualified, highly trained workers by engaging directly in their preparations, education and training. Unlike traditional postsecondary education programs that are designed to prepare students for any number of careers and generally focus more on theory than practice, apprenticeship is designed by and for the employer and is highly specialized to meet the unique needs of a specific job. Because apprentices learn primarily in the workplace, they are trained using the same state-of-the-art equipment that they will use on the job. Moreover, they will be instructed and mentored by skilled workers who have done the job the apprentice is training to do and who will ensure that apprentices are acculturated to workplace norms and expectations. Those who complete a registered apprenticeship receive a credential that is nationally recognized as a mark of distinction.
Employers that support apprenticeship training within their organization generally report the following benefits from their apprenticeship programs:
- Filling vacancies that otherwise couldn’t be filled due to skills gaps among available workers
- Attracting a broader range of candidates and diversifying the workforce
- Improving employee moral and loyalty – thus reducing turnover
- Ensuring that workers are trained to the employer’s standards using the employer’s equipment and protocols
- Shortening the amount of time before new employers are productive
- Decreasing error and accident rates
- Ensuring that the knowledge and experience of aging workers is transferred to the next generation of workers
Graduates of apprenticeship programs receive a national, industry-recognized credential, and registration means the program has met national and independent standards for quality and rigor. Registration tells prospective employees, customers and suppliers that the business invests in its workforce and believes employees are its most important asset.
Only registered apprenticeships have access to certain federal and state funding programs, the Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act (which may provide wage reimbursements to the employers or wrap around services for apprentices) and GI Bill (which provides supplemental support to veterans engaged in apprenticeship), and local workforce development grants.
Assess your training ability. An employer, individual or a group of employers can sponsor an apprentice and provide hands-on training for an occupation.
Before you begin the process of creating a registered apprenticeship program, it’s important to make sure you have the capacity for it.
If you want to train an apprentice, you must:
- have the facilities, people and equipment needed to provide the training
- make sure the apprentice has time to attend classroom training as part of the apprenticeship program
Step 1: Contact Virgin Islands Department of Labor Apprenticeship Office
Contact an Apprentice Training Representative (ATR) who can explain the apprenticeship program.
340-776-3700 ext 2080 or fill out the online application found found HERE.
OR
Complete and submit “Sponsor Information Sheet” to apprenticeshipvi@dol.vi.gov .
Step 2: Design the apprenticeship program
- Select your occupation (staff will help determine which occupation (s) best suit your needs) Many training outlines are available.
- Determine core skills, knowledge, competencies, and certification required for occupational mastery.
- Determine the sequence of training
- Determine how and where apprentices learn
- Identify a Related Training Provider
- Establish benchmarks for certifying mastery
- Set a wage scale
- Determine apprenticeship minimum qualifications and selection process
Step 3: Register apprenticeship program
Step 4: Launch and maintain your program
Staff is available to assist throughout the process. Detailed instructions for each of these steps are contained in The Guide to Registering an Apprenticeship Program in the U.S. Virgin Islands”.
The sponsor is responsible for many aspects of the training program, including:
- Recruiting and selecting apprentices
- Providing skilled Journey workers to train apprentices
- Meeting or exceeding the area’s apprentice-to-journeyworker ratio requirements for the trade
- Evaluating prior trade experience of apprentices
- Awarding appropriate credit toward program completion
- Assuring that apprentices are properly trained and receive proper job rotation
- Guaranteeing enough work to allow apprentices to complete their program
- Instructing apprentices in safe and healthful work practices
- Making related instruction available and accessible
- Evaluating the progress of all apprentices at least every six months
- Providing wage increases to apprentices in keeping with the agreed wage scale
- Notifying the Virgin Islands Department of Labor Apprenticeship office of any changes in your program or apprentices
- Ensuring apprentices are hired without any direct or indirect limitation, specification or discrimination as to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, marital status, age, arrest record, or Veteran status
- Complying with all applicable statutes
- Posting a copy of the EEO complaint procedure
- Ensuring that all apprentices are aware of EEO requirements
- Assuring that the location of training complies with applicable safety and health standards
You are in control of the apprentice selection process. Your apprentices are your employees, so you set the standard of minimum qualifications. You can choose to award credit for prior education and experience to potential candidates.
You can choose to train as many apprentices as your business will allow. However, you must continue to meet the ratio of skilled workers to apprentices*. This is to ensure the highest level of safety of the apprentices and quality of the training.
There is no cost for registration. There is also no cost for the technical assistance that our representatives provide.
As a sponsor, you must also provide the apprentice’s required classroom-related training. The employer usually bears the cost of this related instruction. However, the cost is offset by the starting wage of an apprentice, usually at a rate of about 40% of the skilled worker rate.
The Virgin Islands Department of Labor has no funds directly tied to an approved Registered Apprenticeship. Depending on the eligibility of the apprentice, there may be funds available under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and possibly other funds. Since the funds are specific and unique to each apprentice, the identification of potential funding opportunities is made as you hire the individuals.
Identifying these funds and aligning them to match your specific needs is known as “braiding” the funds and is unique. Braiding is a complex task unique to each employer, SAA staff will work closely with each employer’s hire(s) to determine the most appropriate alignment of funds available. These are ever-changing and regularly updated to provide you as an employer with the most effective and efficient mix of resources to help ensure the successful outcome for all involved.