Apprenticeship 

Works

for Business:

A GUIDE TO 

BUILDING INCLUSIVE 

WORKPLACES

#ApprenticeshipWorks

OFFICE OF DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT POLICY 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR DOL.GOV/ODEP/APPRENTICESHIP 

IN BUSINESS, IT’S TALENT THAT DRIVES INNOVATION. TO 

GROW AND THRIVE IN TODAY’S ECONOMY, EMPLOYERS IN 

ALL INDUSTRIES NEED A HIGHLY SKILLED WORKFORCE. 

NOW, MORE AND MORE ARE DISCOVERING A PROVEN 

STRATEGY FOR BUILDING ONE: APPRENTICESHIP. 

Combining classroom instruction with on-the-job training, 

apprenticeship programs help bridge skills gaps and bring new 

and more diverse talent into the workplace, including people with 

disabilities and those with diverse backgrounds and educational 

experiences. The result is a pipeline of primed and ready workers 

for years to come. 

What’s more, apprenticeship is a strategy for preparing workers 

in not only traditional trades, such as construction, but also highgrowth industries, such as health care, information technology, 

transportation, energy, and many others.

In short, Apprenticeship Works...

for workers,

for opportunity,

for inclusion,

for employers,

FOR BUSINESS.

Hear More About Apprenticeship

Interested in learning more about how apprenticeships 

can help build a skilled, diverse workforce for your 

company or industry? View “#ApprenticeshipWorks,” 

a video produced by the U.S. Department of Labor’s 

Office of Disability Employment Policy. This video 

features interviews with representatives from four 

organizations that manage or sponsor apprenticeships 

in a range of fields, including information technology, 

health care information management, and 

shipbuilding. It is one in a two-part series; the other 

video focuses on the value of apprenticeships to 

individuals. To view either video, visit www.dol.gov/

odep/topics/youth/Apprenticeshipworks-videoseries.htm.



#APPRENTICESHIPWORKS

OFFICE OF DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT POLICY 

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR DOL.GOV/ODEP/APPRENTICESHIP
What is an apprenticeship? 

An apprenticeship is a job and career pathway that allows 

individuals to simultaneously earn money and learn a skill through 

a combination of education and hands-on training. For employers, 

often called “sponsors,” apprenticeships are a business-driven 

investment in the future. Apprenticeships facilitate flexible training 

within a company’s own culture in order to meet its unique 

workforce needs. 

The apprenticeship model is rooted in flexibility. Businesses can 

customize each program to meet specific needs. Reflecting this, 

apprenticeships vary in length depending on a number of factors, 

including the occupation and nature of program. They typically 

range from one to six years, with most being somewhere in the 

middle. Regardless, throughout the process, apprentices are fulltime employees preparing for long-term careers. The resulting 

benefits for sponsors include enhanced retention, increased 

productivity, and lower recruitment costs. In many industries, such 

as the traditional trades, apprenticeships have also been shown to 

improve safety, in turn reducing workers compensation costs and 

improving employee health and well-being. 

Apprenticeship programs that are registered meet national 

standards established by the U.S. Department of Labor or federally 

recognized state apprenticeship agencies. This makes their 

credentials portable and recognizable to employers nationwide. 

Thus, Registered Apprenticeships attract a wider range of potential 

apprentices seeking rewarding, long-term careers. 

The five basic components of a typical Registered Apprenticeship 

program are: 

 Business involvement, to tailor training to identified needs;

 Structured hands-on training, in an actual workplace and overseen 

by an experienced mentor;

 Job-related instruction, usually provided in collaboration with 

education partners such as community colleges, technical schools 

or apprenticeship training schools, or online or at the job site;

 Rewards for skill gains, with pay from day one and increases as 

apprentices gain higher skill levels; and

 A nationally recognized credential that ensures employers across 

an industry that an apprentice is fully qualified.

Who sponsors apprenticeships? 

Apprenticeships can work in any workplace or industry in need 

of a stable, reliable stream of skilled, qualified workers. However, 

employers don’t have to operate apprenticeship programs alone, 

and in fact the vast majority do not. Typically, programs are run 

in collaboration with many partners, including but not limited 

to industry associations, unions, state and local workforce and 

economic development entities, two- and four-year colleges 

and universities, the military, and others. The U.S. Department of 

Labor is currently in the process of partnering with industry 

groups, companies, nonprofit organizations, unions, joint labormanagement organizations, and many others to help them design 

apprenticeship programs that fit their unique industry needs. Some 

employers also work with such partners to offer preapprenticeships, which prepare people to enter and succeed in 

apprenticeships. Like apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships involve 

both instruction and hands-on training.

Do apprenticeships strengthen workforce inclusion?

Yes! Increasingly, apprenticeships are an effective and efficient 

strategy for increasing workforce inclusion. Because of the range 

of opportunities available, they provide a good career path for people 

from all backgrounds, including people with disabilities. 

For businesses, this increased diversity means a broader range of 

perspectives on how to confront challenges and achieve success. 

The U.S. Department of Labor protects applicants and current 

participants in Registered Apprenticeship programs from 

discrimination on the basis of disability. Moreover, Registered 

Apprenticeship programs are taking proactive steps to recruit people 

with disabilities. These steps support an inclusive workforce, which 

benefits all employees and the business as a whole.

Each Registered Apprenticeship program’s sponsor develops its own 

minimum qualifications related to education and the ability to 

perform essential job functions. For a qualified apprentice with a 

disability, an apprenticeship sponsor must provide a reasonable 

accommodation to allow equal employment opportunity, unless to do 

so would cause undue burden. An applicant for an apprenticeship 

may also require 

a reasonable accommodation to assist in applying and interviewing 

for an apprenticeship. Generally, the individual with a disability must 

inform the sponsor that an accommodation is needed. 

When people with disabilities disclose a disability to request 

accommodations is a personal choice, and many disabilities are 

not readily apparent. Thus, key to a disability-inclusive work culture 

are policies and practices that are flexible in facilitating success for 

all employees. 

Where can I get help to develop 

a Registered Apprenticeship 

program?

The nation’s Registered Apprenticeship 

system is overseen by the U.S. 

Department of Labor’s Office of 

Apprenticeship in collaboration with 

state apprenticeship programs. These agencies work together to 

ensure programs meet established standards, protect the safety and 

welfare of apprentices, and issue nationally recognized certificates 

of completion. They also promote the development of new programs, 

with input from a range of stakeholders, including industry 

associations, educational institutions, and workforce and economic 

development organizations. To help employers interested in learning 

more about sponsoring apprenticeships, the department offers a 

number of resources, including an employer toolkit and information on 

potential funding sources and state-based tax credits that can assist in 

getting a program up and running. All this and more is available at 

www.dol.gov/apprenticeship. 

Employers who need help determining effective accommodations 

for apprentices (or any employee) can use the Job Accommodation 

Network (JAN). A free service of the U.S. Department of Labor’s 

Office of Disability Employment Policy, JAN is the leading 

source of free, expert, and confidential assistance on workplace 

accommodations. It offers one-on-one guidance over the phone at

(800) 526-7234 or (877) 781-9403 (TTY) or via email or live chat.

JAN’s website, AskJAN.org, also offers a wealth of information,

including an A to Z guide of disabilities and accommodations.

REGISTERED 

APPRENTICESHIP 

PROGRAM 

SPOTLIGHT: 

NEWPORT NEWS SHIPBUILDING 

“The apprenticeship model 

will work in almost every 

context—wherever you have 

a workforce need, wherever 

you have a gap, whether we’re 

talking about a skills gap or 

retention issues.”

- Todd Estes, Director,

Apprenticeship Institute,

Tidewater Community College

The Apprentice School at Newport 

News Shipbuilding in Newport 

News, Virginia, operates multi-year 

Registered Apprenticeships in a 

number of shipbuilding fields as 

well as advanced programs of study. 

Together, these programs provide 

Newport News Shipbuilding, which 

designs, builds, and maintains ships 

for the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, a 

continuous supply of employees with 

the skills and knowledge necessary to 

grow and succeed in the years ahead. 

The Apprentice School is structured 

within Newport News Shipbuilding, 

but partners with educational 

institutions, including Tidewater 

Community College and Old Dominion 

University, to offer college credit.

REGISTERED 

APPRENTICESHIP 

PROGRAM 

SPOTLIGHT:

URBAN TECHNOLOGY PROJECT

“I would say to any employer 

that had any hesitation about 

hiring someone from an 

apprenticeship program with 

a disability, or quite frankly 

anybody with a disability, that 

it’s the energy and excitement 

that someone brings to the 

job, and the desire to learn 

really should be your only 

focus, and that’s worked out 

for us tenfold.” 

- Melanie Harris, Chief Information

Officer, School District of

Philadelphia

The Computer Support Specialists 

Information Technology 

apprenticeship program run by the 

Urban Technology Project (UTP) 

trains individuals for careers in 

technology while also providing 

much needed support to both 

faculty and students in Philadelphia 

high schools. Upon completion of 

the program, many UTP alumni go 

on to work for the school district, 

both in its administrative offices 

and individual schools around the 

city. A partnership between the 

School District of Philadelphia 

and Communities in Schools of 

Philadelphia, UTP also offers a preapprenticeship program, called the 

Digital Services Fellows program, 

through which individuals work 

alongside apprentices. 

REGISTERED 

APPRENTICESHIP 

PROGRAM 

SPOTLIGHT: 

MEDPARTNERS 

“We saw competition 

between hospitals, our 

company, and other 

companies for talent, and 

we really felt like it wasn’t 

a sustainable environment 

for our clients. We really 

needed to do something to 

bridge the gap and bring 

talent into our workplace.” 

- Marci Wilhelm, Co-Chief Executive

Officer and Chief Operating

Officer, MedPartners

MedPartners started its 

apprenticeship program to build 

a pipeline of professionals with 

the skills necessary to keep pace 

with rapid changes in the field of 

health information management, 

also known as medical coding. The 

company operates its program in 

collaboration with the American 

Health Information Management 

Association, which is capitalizing on 

apprenticeship as a way to bridge 

employment and education in the 

emerging industry. Apprentices 

serve MedPartners’ client hospitals 

and other health care facilities across 

the nation through a two-phased 

program consisting of intensive 

instruction followed by on-the-job 

work under close supervision.