Guidelines for Setting-up Registered Youth Apprenticeship

Registered Youth Apprenticeship is the most highly developed form of work-based learning among the spectrum of work-based learning options identified by School-to-work in New Hampshire. It combines paid employment, supervised on-the-job training and related instruction. This option should be considered only by youth with a serious commitment to training in their chosen occupational area.

How to Become a Registered Youth Apprentice

Students typically begin a Registered Youth Apprenticeship during their junior year of high school. To become a registered youth apprentice, a student must sign an apprenticeship agreement with an employer who has a registered youth apprenticeship program (sometimes referred to as a school/apprenticeship linkage program). In New Hampshire, apprenticeship programs are approved and registered by the New Hampshire State Apprenticeship Council.

Some local employers may already have registered youth apprenticeship programs as a means of training personnel. If local registered youth apprenticeship opportunities do not currently exist related to a student's expressed interest, these programs can be developed through the Bureau of Apprenticeship & Training or New Hampshire Dept. of Labor.

What Occupations train using Apprenticeship?

Apprenticeships can occur in a large number of occupations, although historically they have been in construction and manufacturing industries. New Hampshire is actively working to expand apprenticeship opportunities into other industries such as biotechnology, telecommunications, financial management, and the hospitality fields.

According to federal guidelines for registered apprenticeship, occupations in which apprenticeship programs can be developed must:

• be widely recognized as a distinct occupation throughout an industry
• be customarily learned in a practical way through a systematic program of supervised on-the-job training
• involve training in manual, mechanical or technical skills and knowledge
• require at least 144 hours of related instruction for each 2,000 hours on-the-job-training

What about hazardous occupations? Registered youth apprentices are allowed to be employed in hazardous occupations because they receive safety training both at school and on-the-job. Registered youth apprentices are closely supervised by at least one professional worker at all times.

Necessary Conditions to create Registered Youth Apprenticeships

To create a registered youth apprenticeship program for a student, four conditions are essential:

1. There must be a student who is minimally (according to employer's criteria) qualified for the job and has the ability and interest to pursue employment and training in the field.
2. There must be an employer willing to provide approximately 20 hours/week of supervised on-the-job training.
3. There must be at least 72 hours/year of related instruction available which directly supports the on-the-job training.
4. Upon graduation, the student must be able to engage in 144 hours/year of related instruction and 2000 hours/year of on-the-job training in order to complete their apprenticeship program. Program flexibility is possible based on employer and apprentice need.

Developing Registered Youth Apprenticeship Programs

Steps to develop a Registered Youth Apprenticeship Program are as follows:

1. Student's interest is investigated in terms of whether or not it is apprenticeable.
2. An employer is found based on the student's expressed occupational area of interest. This employer must be willing to employ the student as a registered youth apprentice and provide on-the-job training necessary to acquire the skills of the occupation.
3. The work-based learning coordinator contacts the New Hampshire Dept. of Labor office (603) 271-7822. At the same time, they obtain a work process and related instructions outline for the occupation under consideration.
4. The New Hampshire Dept. of Labor will arrange to meet with the employer to develop Standards of Apprenticeship.

   The Standards of Apprenticeship are designed to assure that the apprenticeship program will meet state and federal regulations to ensure a quality training experience for the apprentice. The occupation, minimum entry qualifications for apprentice, length of apprenticeship, supervision of apprentice, safety training on the job and related instruction, wage schedule, credit for previous experience or job experience, etc. are all committed to paper in this document.

5. The work-based learning coordinator will obtain an example of a Work Process from New Hampshire Dept. of Labor. The work process is addendum to the apprenticeship Standards. It describes the type of work experience which an apprentice will receive during the supervised on-the-job training. This list of work tasks includes an allocation of time spent in each work process or identifies competencies needed to be gained prior to reaching professional status. Typically, work processes are time-based and cover the total recommended training period for a specific occupation, i.e. cosmetologist work 2000 hours of on-the-job training, electricians work 8000 hours. The work process is also used for tracking the apprentices progress in on-the-job training, either through hours worked or competencies gained. While in school, registered youth apprenticeship can earn hours which contribute to acquisition of the total hours required for that occupation. School personnel involved in the development of a registered youth apprenticeship program will want to review the work process with the student(s) and employer(s) involved so a mutual understanding of the work to be covered during supervised on-the-job training is clear to all parties. If a work process is not available from New Hampshire Dept. of Labor, contact the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT).

   In the case of hazardous occupation, the work tasks that are considered hazardous are identified in the work process and the employer is encouraged to delay exposure to these tasks until the apprentice is eighteen years of age or older.

6. Simultaneously to developing the on-the-job training, the work-based learning coordinator will develop a Related Instruction Outline which is included as an addendum to the apprenticeship Standards. This identifies the core academic areas in which the apprentice must receive school-based learning during the course of the apprentice program. Where specific vocational programming related to the occupational area cannot be found, the work process needs to be analyzed by the employer to help identify academic courses necessary to develop foundation skills. For example, math courses would be identified as critical in an electrical apprenticeship. Sources for all related instruction must be identified before an apprenticeship program can be approved. In registered youth apprenticeship programs, the secondary school must identify which classes will be available to the apprentice during high school experience, as well as which classes the apprentice will attend after graduation in order to meet the related instruction requirements. In an effort to raise the occupational skills standards of the students, whenever possible, NH Community Technical College courses should be investigated and emphasized. The particular classes which will provide related instruction at the high school level will be identified in the Collaborative Agreement.
7. Following the development of the on-the-job training and the related instructions, the work-based coordinator will complete the Collaborative Agreement. It is a document used as a tool to define the various roles and responsibilities of parties involved in a registered youth apprenticeship program. It contains basic information on the apprenticeship program and serves as a clarifying device for the parent, student, employer, school and postsecondary representative, as well as the New Hampshire Dept. of Labor and the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training. All minors who are employed as registered youth apprentices will need work certification papers. School personnel can assist in obtaining this certification.
8. When the Collaborative Agreement and the Standards have been completed, an Apprenticeship Agreement is completed by the employer and apprentice. This document marks the official beginning of the registered apprenticeship and is forwarded to the Dept. of Labor for State Apprenticeship Council approval. The Apprenticeship Agreement is voluntary contract which spells out the specifics of an apprenticeship program. The New Hampshire Dept. of Labor will forward this to the Council.

   By signing an Apprenticeship Agreement the apprentice is entered into the National Apprenticeship Program and will receive a nationally recognized Completion Certification upon completion of the apprenticeship.

9. The New Hampshire Dept. of Labor apprenticeship coordinator will forward the Standards and Apprenticeship Agreement, the sponsor checklist (filled out by the employer and New Hampshire Dept. of Labor),and the Collaborative Agreement to the Apprenticeship Council, once approved, the council secretary will send copies to the employer, and maintain apprentice records until the apprentice completes the apprenticeship program.
10. When the apprentice has completed on-the-job training described in the Standards and has successfully completed all related instruction with a grade of 70% or higher, the employer may request a Certificate of Completion for the apprentice. The employer submits documentation of the on-the-job training and related instruction, if it has not been submitted previously, and states that the apprentice has completed all aspects of the apprenticeship training, the Certificate is issued by the State Apprenticeship Council and forwarded to the employer.
11. All registered apprenticeship programs which require professional licenses in New Hampshire are designed to meet or exceed licensing requirements. Employers and apprentices must make sure they have completed any additional procedures required by state licensing boards, i.e. plumber, electrician, cosmetologist, etc.