Registered Apprenticeship Program

About This Grant

Apprenticeship is a valuable training system that provides New York State businesses with a well-trained, highly skilled workforce through a combination of structured on-the-job training and related and supplemental instruction. Apprentices learn a trade while earning wages, and upon successful program completion, receive a nationally and industry-recognized portable work credential. Sponsors operate apprenticeship programs in both the private and public sectors, and include single businesses, single businesses and a union, groups of businesses such as associations, and group labor/management organizations representing both businesses and a union or unions. Program sponsors pay most of the training costs while simultaneously increasing the wages of the apprentices as their skill levels increase. Apprenticeship is beneficial to businesses because it leads to reduced turnover rates, better employee relations, and a well-trained/highly skilled workforce. As a result of the emphasis on safety training, businesses also benefit from reduced workers? compensation costs. The New York State Registered Apprenticeship (RA) program employs work-based training conducted in accordance with industry-based training outlines, and each apprentice is required to complete a minimum of 144 hours of related and supplemental instruction during each year of training. Increasingly, apprentices can receive college credit for the work experience and instruction they receive. Most programs use a time-based training approach where apprentices track the skills acquired through task rotation and complete the program after a pre-determined length of time. New York State?s Apprenticeship regulations also permit the use of hybrid and competency-based approaches to training. These methods, which verify competency, allow program sponsors flexibility in how on-the-job training is provided and are leading to expansion of the RA program into new and emerging trades and industries such as Advanced Manufacturing, Information Technology, Hospitality, and Healthcare. The New York State Department of Labor (NYSDOL) continues to receive new trade proposals in competency and hybrid approaches and has recently approved a competency-based Pharmacy Associate training outline.