Youth with Disabilities Entering the Workplace through Apprenticeship

Establishing New Apprenticeship 

Programs

4
An Overview: 

A lack of available apprenticeship openings should not deter interested private and nonprofit 

agencies and organizations or individuals from pursuing apprenticeship as a post-secondary 

option for young adults with disabilities. New programs are continually being added to the 

apprenticeship program rolls, and with over 950 occupations recognized as apprenticeable 

by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) the possibilities are almost endless. Starting new 

apprenticeship programs, however, requires a willing employer and the technical support from 

local apprenticeship staff to make it happen.

What You Need to Know: 

Registered apprenticeship is a voluntary industrydriven employment and training program. 

Apprenticeship programs are operated by a partnership 

between a business or industry, and organized labor, 

individual employers, or employer associations. The 

operator of an apprenticeship program is called a 

program sponsor. Potential program sponsors need 

to identify the benefits of apprenticeship to their 

organization or business before expending the effort 

and expense involved in establishing and administering 

an apprenticeship program. 

A well-planned apprenticeship 

program yields many advantages 

to the employer, and can:

Attract highly qualified applicants;

Reduce absenteeism and turnover;

Increase productivity;

Ensure employees are trained to 

industry standards; and

Provide employers with a 

competitive edge through a welltrained and flexible workforce.

Some apprenticeship programs are registered with DOL 

while others, located in 25 states, plus the District 

of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, 

are registered through a State Apprenticeship Agency 

(SAA). Federal or state apprenticeship staff are 

located throughout the country and are available to 

provide technical assistance to all program sponsors. 

Services provided include the identification of training 

needs, the development of apprenticeship standards, 

the development of apprentice recordkeeping 

systems, and the coordination of services that may 

be provided through other federal, state, and private 

employment and training programs, such as Vocational 

Rehabilitation and its community rehabilitation 

providers, the One-Stop Career Center System, Job 

Corps, and school-based preparatory programs.

Federal regulations contain the standards for 

establishing and registering apprenticeship programs. 

Currently, there are 23 different standards for 

recognition of apprenticeship programs that relate to:

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• Types of occupations and terms of 

training (e.g. duration);

• Methods of training and the 

contents of the training agreement 

between the apprentice and 

program sponsor;

• Employment and supervision 

of apprentices, including 

requirements for wage 

progression;

• Registration, record maintenance, 

reporting and certification; and

• Compliance with equal 

employment opportunity 

requirements.

Youth with Disabilities Entering the Workplace through Apprenticeship - Establishing New Apprenticeship Programs
Traditionally, training programs 

had to be at least one year 

in length to be eligible for 

registration, and most were 

between two and four years. 

Recent federal rule changes, 

however, allow programs to 

be competency-based rather 

than for a specific time period, 

or they can be a combination 

of competency and timebased. Federal regulations also 

recommend at least 144 hours 

of related instruction, which is 

usually classroom based. 

A good place to start in developing an 

apprenticeship program is to look at the 

criteria used to establish an apprenticeship 

occupation. These criteria include both the 

on-the-job competencies that an individual 

must master (along with an approximate 

number of hours of work experience) and 

areas of knowledge that an individual should 

acquire through related training. Some 

employers, employer associations and labormanagement partnerships have established 

what are called national standards for their 

apprenticeship occupations. These national 

standards are guidelines for apprenticeship 

programs that facilitate development of 

registered apprenticeship programs for 

specific occupations. Federal and state 

apprenticeship staff can provide assistance 

in accessing the criteria for an apprenticeship 

occupation and any available national 

guideline standards. 

Federal and state apprenticeship staff can 

also help identify those program sponsors 

that include interim credentialing within 

their program standards, a concept that may 

be particularly useful for some individuals 

with disabilities. Interim credentials are 

certificates that are issued by the registration 

agency at the request of the program sponsor 

as certification of an apprentice’s attainment 

of competency for industry-recognized 

components of an apprentice’s occupation. 

These credentials provide incentives for 

apprentices to complete their apprenticeship 

and are useful in pursuing career goals. 

Funding is an important consideration 

for employers looking at apprenticeship. 

Agencies and organizations interested 

in working with employers to establish 

apprenticeship programs should therefore 

identify potential funding sources that can 

be used to defray the costs of apprenticeship. 

Agencies that work with individuals with 

disabilities should also determine whether 

and how their own program resources can 

be used to help defray training costs. There 

are many other sources of grants, tax credits 

and training funds that can be used. These 

funding sources vary among states since 

many are state-based. A brochure on Funding 

Opportunities for Apprenticeship Programs 

is available through the U.S. Department of 

Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship Web site 

at: www.doleta.gov/OA/pdf/funding_fact_

sheet.pdf.

Youth with Disabilities Entering the Workplace through Apprenticeship - Establishing New Apprenticeship Programs
Here are some tips for developing 

apprenticeship programs:

Create partnerships with other agencies 

and organizations to facilitate the process. 

These partnerships might include other 

service providing agencies and organizations, 

schools, community colleges, and employer 

organizations. Enlist the support of state 

or federal apprenticeship staff. Designate 

individuals to form a working group to 

explore opportunities, work with employers, 

and identify funding resources.

Labor market information is crucial for 

focusing efforts. Try to answer the following 

questions: What are the emerging demand 

occupations in the area? Who are the 

employers for these demand occupations? 

Where are they located?

Identify potential employers. Consider 

larger employers, employer associations, 

and employers with multiple locations. 

Also, be sure to include public agencies and 

nonprofit organizations, as they are often an 

overlooked, but potentially willing source for 

apprenticeship programs. Target employers 

who are known to be “disability-friendly.” 

Also, consider working with employers to 

make them more “disability-friendly” through 

internships and exposure to people with 

disabilities in the workplace.

Develop a marketing and outreach strategy 

to attract potential program sponsors.

Include in your plan any available financial 

resources that can be used as incentives for 

employers to participate. Be sure to include 

public sector and nonprofit employers as they 

are the source of many jobs in apprenticeship 

occupations.

Once you have secured a commitment from an 

interested employer, your next steps are to:

Obtain buy-in from workers and 

management for the idea and organize 

an apprenticeship committee of skilled 

workers and management.

Determine the type of training to be 

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delivered, both on-the-job and related 

instruction, and identify sources for 

delivering the related training. This can be 

done through a community college or other 

training providers. Larger employers may 

also have in-house capabilities to deliver 

training.

• Develop the standards for training, 

including: occupations; length of training; 

selection procedure; affirmative action 

plan; wages; and number of apprentices to 

be trained. Make sure that all federal (and 

where applicable, state) requirements are 

addressed.

• Recruit potential journey-level mentors and 

offer training in mentoring an apprentice 

with a disability to dispel concerns about 

working with people with disabilities and to 

help ensure a successful placement.

• Identify an individual to be the program 

coordinator. This is generally someone 

within the employer’s organization. 

However, providing someone to serve 

as program coordinator for at least the 

first year of the program, or subsidizing 

the costs of an individual chosen by the 

apprenticeship committee can serve as an 

incentive for employers to participate. 

Present the program standards to federal 

or state apprenticeship agencies for 

registration. The same staff can be of 

assistance in developing the standards for 

training.

Once the standards are approved, work 

with the employer to refer qualified 

applicants. It is also important to continue 

to provide support to both applicants and 

to employers, especially around disability 

related issues about which employers 

may not be familiar. (See Fact Sheet 3 in 

this series: “Increasing The Participation 

Of Young Adults With Disabilities In 

Apprenticeship Programs”).

Work closely with the program sponsor and 

program coordinator to monitor progress, to 

resolve any issues that may arise, and track 

results.

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Youth with Disabilities Entering the Workplace through Apprenticeship - Establishing New Apprenticeship Programs
Youth with Disabilities Entering the Workplace through Apprenticeship - Establishing New Apprenticeship Programs

Where to Go For More Information: 

For comprehensive information on registered apprenticeship in the U.S., including the steps 

for setting up an apprenticeship program, visit: www.doleta.gov/OA/eta_default.cfm.

The complete standards for the registration of apprenticeship programs are available through 

the U.S. Department of Labor at: www.doleta.gov/OA/characte.cfm. 

State apprenticeship agencies are a crucial local resource if you are developing a new 

apprenticeship program. Find the contact information for your state at: 

www.doleta.gov/OA/stateagencies.cfm. 

The National Association of State and Territorial Apprenticeship Directors (NASTAD)

seeks to promote the expansion of registered apprenticeship, and will work in conjunction 

with employers and labor organizations: nastad.us/overview.html.

Apprenticeship: It Makes Good Business Sense is a toolkit produced by the 

Wisconsin Apprenticeship Advisory Council that specifically informs employers 

of the steps necessary to create a new apprenticeship program: 

dwd.wisconsin.gov/apprenticeship/pdf/06_EmployerToolKit.pdf. 

Small businesses may qualify for financial assistance from the Small Business 

Administration (SBA) when implementing an apprenticeship program: 

www.sba.gov/services/financialassistance/index.html.

1. Understanding Apprenticeship Basics

2. Preparing Youth and Young Adults for 

Apprenticeship Programs

3. Increasing Participation of Young Adults 

with Disabilities In Apprenticeship 

Programs

4. Establishing New Apprenticeship Programs

5. What Apprenticeship Employers Need to 

Know About Working with Young Adults 

with Disabilities

6. Looking to Future Opportunities in 

Apprenticeship

Office of Disability 

Employment Policy

U.S. Department of Labor

200 Constitution Ave., NW

Washington, DC 20210

Voice 

1-866-ODEP-DOL (633-7365) 

TTY 

1-877-889-5627

www.dol.gov/odep

Learn More