Apprenticeships Defined

Apprenticeships are job-training programs sponsored by individual employers, employer associations, and joint employer and labor groups (unions). Workers who join these programs are called apprentices. If you are accepted into an apprenticeship program, you'll learn the practical and theoretical aspects of a skilled trade through on-the-job training, classroom instruction, or both.

The Office of Apprenticeship Training, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, oversees the National Apprenticeship System authorized by The National Apprenticeship Act of 1937 (commonly known as the Fitzgerald Act).

Apprenticeship Benefits

Not only will you learn new skills, but you'll get paid to do it. Under the Federal guidelines, apprentices are employees who earn as they learn. Pay is on an increasing scale, based on the typical hourly wage for the occupation you chose to enter. You'll receive "raises" as you satisfactorily progress through the training, until your wage reaches 85 to 90 percent of the rate for your occupation.

After successful completion, you'll receive an Apprenticeship Completion Certificate, which earns you nationwide recognition as a qualified journeywoman or journeyman (skilled worker). It is one of the oldest and most-portable industry credentials, which makes you eligible to work anywhere you can land a job for which you qualify.

You might even earn credits toward an Associate Degree, depending on the program you join.

Apprenticeship Occupations

Typically, apprenticeship programs are for learning journeywork in unionized, skilled trades, but not limited to same. The 25 most-popular apprenticeships as of September 30, 2003 are listed below, by occupation. Check the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration Website for updates or to look up the most-popular apprenticeships in prior years.