Is a Registered Apprenticeship Program a Good Fit for Your Company?

In today’s fast-paced economy, staying ahead means not only finding the right candidates — a tall order in itself these days — but also retaining, training and cultivating those hires into the skilled, loyal and reliable workforce your business needs to thrive.

Registered Apprenticeship programs administered by Arkansas’ Office of Skills Development (OSD), part of the Arkansas Department of Commerce, are a golden opportunity for businesses in Arkansas to overcome recruiting challenges and hire motivated, highly-trained workers.

Registered Apprenticeship is Future Proofing Your Business:

Customized

Apprenticeship programs are industry-driven and designed by you, so the program meets your specific requirements, equipment, technology, and culture

Talent Pipeline

Apprenticeships are an established method of maintaining a pool of skilled talent. They also reduce the cost of recruitment.

Increased Productivity

Apprenticeship programs combine both classroom instruction and hands-on application. That means, apprentices learn your equipment and methods, and become productive quickly.

Increased Retention

Statistics show that 94% of apprentices remain employed with the company when training is complete.

Federal & State Incentives

Funding incentives like tax breaks and program cost reimbursement are available to companies hosting apprenticeship programs.

Search Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAP) in Arkansas by industry sector to see how the apprenticeship model is expanding into every industry.

How to start a Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) in your business?

Businesses can easily start and maintain one or more Registered Apprenticeship Programs to train workers. Getting started is simple (see below) and OSD is ready to help you get your program off the ground.

Steps to Creating an Apprenticeship Program at Your Company

Contact OSD
Contact the OSD and our elite team of apprenticeship experts can assist you in getting started.
Curriculum Design & Development
The US Dept. of Labor (USDOL) has over 1,400 approved program plans that companies can use, customizing to your company’s unique needs while conforming to professional industry standards. OSD can help you find the a plan and help you in the customization process.
Plan & Curriculum Consensus
USDOL and the Office of Apprenticeship work with your company to arrive at a consensus regarding your apprenticeship program and its implementation
Agreement
Once all parties agree, the USDOL sends the final agreement to the company for signatures.
Funding Incentives
Once agreements are signed, the program is ready for implementation. At this point, USDOL and OSD representatives will present a variety of funding incentives for which the company now qualifies.

Check out the Apprenticeship for Businesses brochure.

Need help?

If this sounds like too much to handle on your own, there are resources to help! OSD has partnered with the Arkansas Center for Data Sciences (ACDS) and the Arkansas Apprenticeship Alliance (AAA) to be intermediaries between businesses and the US Department of Labor and OSD. The experts at ACDS and AAA work with federal and state officials to help you create a Registered Apprenticeship Program that will bring you the results you need. In addition to the free services to help you launch an apprenticeship program, ACDS and AAA can also assist in finding training options, locating qualified talent, and training your team to meet your company’s unique needs. You can go to the ACDS and AAA websites for more information.

Upskilling Current Workers

Industry newcomers are not the only ones suited for an apprenticeship. Current employees seeking advancement, needing additional skills and knowledge, and those re-skilling for a new career can all benefit from Registered Apprenticeship. If you have a great employee who needs additional skills to move to the next level, consider a Registered Apprenticeship Program for providing the on-the-job and technical training they need to advance.

Registered Apprenticeship Programs are Effective Training Models in a Wide Array of Industry Sectors

You may have never before considered a Registered Apprenticeship Program (RAP) in your business sector; however, nearly every industry sector can benefit from RAP. In many cases, a RAP can reduce or even replace the need for a four-year degree in industries such as: