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6. Transition into a Registered Apprenticeship or Other High-Quality Apprenticeship Program
A key characteristic of a high-quality pre-apprenticeship is the connection to Registered Apprenticeship or other high-quality apprenticeship programs. Building these connections for opportunity youth can be challenging given the varying level of understanding of the population that employers and apprenticeship sponsors have. While there has been a growing movement in building apprenticeships for in-school youth, opportunity youth and other disconnected job seekers remain largely unserved and therefore many employers do not understand the value and assets that they present to the workforce.
High-quality pre-apprenticeships will also provide participants with connections to various postsecondary and career pathways after training. This is especially important for those who may not be ready to advance into a Registered Apprenticeship or who may wish to continue their education instead.
Program Partnerships
Pre-apprenticeship programs should partner with industry, employers, unions, intermediaries, and the public workforce system to facilitate placements.
Partnerships with industry, employers, unions, workforce intermediaries, and public workforce partners can be especially important for programs serving opportunity youth because the population is often misunderstood by these stakeholders. Many employers are hesitant to engage younger workers out of concern that there may be too much risk or that they may require too much support. Strong partnerships and engagement can help underscore the assets that these young people bring with them, including their skills, competencies, knowledge, and perspectives, and demonstrate the positive impacts that hiring them can have on an individual employer or industry’s bottom line. They can also highlight the ways in which community-based organizations can partner with employers for the successful retention and advancement of opportunity youth.
To build effective partnerships, JFF recommends that programs convey the benefits pre-apprenticeship and opportunity youth bring to employers and other stakeholders from the start of engagement. Programs should prioritize the inclusion of formal agreements for hiring and placing opportunity youth participants into jobs and apprenticeships and establish comprehensive memorandums of understanding that articulate the percentage of participants who will receive employment upon successful completion of their pre-apprenticeship program.
These agreements should include commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and nondiscriminatory hiring practices. JFF also recommends that programs create opportunities for young people to engage with employers. This can happen through job shadows, career fairs, and work-based learning, as well as through mentoring and including young people in groups and meetings with stakeholders where they can share their feedback. Doing this will help employers better understand the value that opportunity youth represent to their workforce needs and can also help participants expand their professional networks, which can support their future career advancement.
Selection Preferences
Programs should work with program sponsors to determine their form of selection preference for program graduates, such as guaranteed interviews or direct entry into a high-quality apprenticeship.
To ensure that opportunity youth can successfully progress from a pre-apprenticeship into a Registered Apprenticeship, providers should have a full understanding of the entry requirements and selection criteria of apprenticeship programs and design their programs with these requirements in mind. JFF recommends that programs also consult resources like The Urban Institute’s Competency-Based Frameworks or JFF’s self-paced, online Competency-Based and Hybrid Apprenticeship course to ensure that they provide the proper technical and soft skills needed for success in the apprenticeship.
Connecting Grads
Programs should connect pre-apprenticeship graduates who do not enter an apprenticeship to a postsecondary education and training option, or to an employer in a related field for an interview.
As mentioned previously, not all young people who complete a pre-apprenticeship will want to transition into a Registered Apprenticeship or other high-quality apprenticeship program. Some may want to directly enter the workforce while others may choose to continue with their education in a postsecondary setting. An apprenticeship can be an alternative route to attaining a college education. Pre-apprenticeship programs can facilitate connections to postsecondary education by establishing advanced standing agreements for program completers.
High-quality pre-apprenticeships will help opportunity youth not only understand the range of workforce training and career pathways available but also the different postsecondary pathways available. To do this, JFF recommends that programs leverage their career navigation activities to help participants explore potential careers before they make a decision about their next steps. Programs should also explore partnerships with educational providers such as community colleges or four-year universities to help inform the connections participants can make to postsecondary pathways.
Component in Action
Institute for American Apprenticeships
at Vermont HITEC
Institute for American Apprenticeships
at Vermont HITEC
The Institute for American Apprenticeships at Vermont HITEC (IAA) has offered Registered Apprenticeships in healthcare, information technology, advanced manufacturing and business services for nearly two decades. Its apprenticeship model serves as an example for how pre-apprenticeship programs can create seamless transitions to apprenticeship for participants. Its program uses three phases:
- The program consults employers to identify their hiring needs and interest in developing an apprenticeship. The design process starts with a commitment by the employer to hire every program participant who successfully completes the pre-apprenticeship program. Once a commitment has been secured, IAA staff work with the employer to determine the essential functions of the occupation and qualities of a successful worker. An IAA subject matter expert shadows that occupation for several months to develop an intimate understanding of what it takes to learn and do the job. They document the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities before designing a custom curriculum and set of technical competencies for the employer. Recruitment also occurs in this phase which also allows opportunity youth to learn about the occupation, the employer and about apprenticeship. This awareness is a key element that contributes to the success of the individual, which then translates into a higher completion and retention rate for the program. IAA leverages funding from the workforce system to enable this high-quality pre-apprenticeship program.
- Learners receive rigorous and time-intensive instruction as well as assistance in terms of transportation, housing, counseling, childcare assistance and materials (e.g., books and supplies) to encourage their ongoing involvement and support program completion. Each program includes an experienced instructor and project leader who manages logistics and coaches on professional presentation. IAA leverages funding from the workforce system to provide both the technical program and the wraparound supports to apprentices.
- An apprentice receives a mentor who offers them support on a regular basis to promote on-the-job learning, support services are provided until the apprenticeship is completed, and apprentices earn the applicable industry-recognized credentials.
The attention to the needs of the individual and the employer in every phase of the process have contributed to the IAA program’s completion rate of over 90 percent and to the apprenticeship completion rate of 84 percent. This represents a win for the apprentice, the employer and the community.